Trapped
by Firestarterchik
Summary: Semi A/U Season Five... What happens when Lucas and Peyton run into each other in LA? Will their brief encounter be enough for them to find their way back to each other? Eventual Leyton.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, this is my first fanfic EVER! Hopefully you'll like it. This is set at the beginning of Season Five, but with one major change. Lucas has already been approached to turn his book into a movie.**

**I do not own One Tree Hill or anything associated with the show, including but not limited to: characters, locations, situations, etc. I'm simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

**___________**

She closed the door of the hotel room behind her and struggled to keep from screaming. Assistant to the Assistant. What a fucking joke. She gripped the handle of the door as she took in a deep breath and calmed down.

Peyton hated her job sometimes. Okay, most times. Fine… ALWAYS. But it had to get better, right? After all, that's the reason she forced herself to go to work everyday, despite knowing that the only difference she made was whether her ass of a boss got his disgustingly overpriced caffeine drink on time or not. It's also why she agreed to go on this stupid errand for the already mentioned asshat that should be beneath her. And that's the reason that three years ago in this very hotel, she didn't immediately agree to marry Lucas.

Lucas.

That one word would always be her downfall, she knew. She tried to push him out of her mind before everything came flooding to her, threatening to choke her with longing and need. But it was too late, already the memories were there. His intense blue eyes that could always look right through whatever façade she had manage to conjure up and straight into her soul. His strong jaw and smart ass mouth that would break into the grin that would make her knees weak. His muscular arms that held her tight on so many night, that saved her countless times. His…

She felt her cheeks burn. Amazing how quickly her thoughts of him seem to go in that direction. Maybe Brooke was right, she need to get laid. But she couldn't date. Peyton couldn't bring herself to look past the fact that whatever guy she tried to get to know wasn't Lucas. The one guy that managed to survive the first date simply did because she needed it to.

Julian hadn't been Lucas, either. But considering that she had just seen Lucas kissing his new girlfriend (that man-faced bitch), that was pretty much the appeal. He had been good to her and he made her love him. But there was always that tall skinny blond boy that she could never let go. And Julian knew it, so he had let _her _go.

So there was no dating for her and trolling bars for one night stands was out of the question. She wasn't wired that way, and despite all the urgings from her best friend, she had been as celibate as a monk. Well, maybe not. She still "Brooked" herself. Especially when the memories and her need for physical comfort became too much for her to take. Like now.

But now was definitely not the time and definitely not the place for that kind of release. The last thing Peyton needed was to get herself arrested for indecent behavior in a hotel hallway.

She just needed to get her mind off of her lost love's strong lines and hard…

Oh. That was going to be harder than she thought. At least she's not a boy with their tell-tale signs of arousal. Oh, but that didn't help the fact that her underwear felt a little tight. She rummaged through her purse and took out two items to help distract her: her mp3 player and her book.

In went the earbuds and out came the sounds of La Rocca's "Non Believer." The song that Max had prescribed to her after Lucas had his heart attack had served as her go-to song whenever she needed a little refill in the hope department. The shoulders that she didn't even realized had tensed up, relaxed as her nimble artistic fingers flipped the pages of the worn book in her hands until she found what she was looking for…

_"Peyton Sawyer is destined for greatness.  
Actually, she's already great, because  
Peyton Sawyer had a thing called integrity.  
And nothing and no one is ever going to change that."_

His words had an immediate effect on her. Her arousal faded to the background and she succumbed to the comfort of his words. She felt his love and admiration for her when he wrote those words wrap around her like a warm blanket. Without her eyes ever leaving the page, her hand found the button for the elevator.

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It had been two years since Lucas had last been in Los Angeles. Not since his book tour… not since Peyton had made it perfectly clear that there was nothing left between them. He had never thought much of the city and those memories did nothing to change his opinion. But LA was where movies got made, and that was what he was trying to do. Or rather, what Lindsey wanted him to do.

_Luke! It's a great opportunity. Think about it," she pleaded._

_A sigh. "I've thought about it, Linds," he started and then stopped. "I just don't know if I want An Unkindness of Ravens out there like that. It's personal."_

_Lindsey rolled her eyes. "So personal that you published it so that everyone else could read it?"_

_Crap. She had him there. "It's different."_

_"How? How is it different?" Her eyes locked onto his. There was no escape this time. He had managed to derail the conversation too many times in the last week and Lindsey was determined not to let him get away with it this time._

_He opened his mouth and closed it again quickly. He was going to have to tread carefully. This was heading towards dangerous waters. How was he going to explain to his new girlfriend that he couldn't bear having to relive all the wonderful times with his… with his Peyton. Nearly three years after they broke up and he still couldn't call her his ex-girlfriend. She was still **his** Peyton. Except that she wasn't, not really._

_His mind raced for a plausible explanation. One that would sound good enough for her. One that would close this conversation (argument) forever. Lindsey's eyes narrowed and he knew he was running out of time. And then, it hit him._

_"Because I wrote it, Lindsey. I just can't have someone else mess it up, changing details to suit whoever." There, that should do it._

_Her eyes darted around, studying his handsome face, looking for something. "Is that the only reason you don't want to do this?"_

_"Of course," he lied. He blinked. It always bothered him how easy it was to lie to Lindsey. Peyton would have… He willed himself not to finish the thought._

_She smiled. "Well then, you don't have to worry about that. The producer wants you to write the screenplay. So, it will still be you writing it."_

_Oh, he thought but said nothing._

_Not that she really even gave him a chance to. "After all, it's not like you're actually writing your second book like you're supposed to be doing." Her voice was light, but it sounded a little forced. "Maybe writing the screenplay might kick start your creative juices and you could actually give me some pages to edit so I could do my job." _

_He groaned. Lindsey couldn't help but bring up his writer's block in every conversation they had. She was his editor, so he couldn't get mad at her for that. But because she was just a editor, she didn't understand that words don't just come to you if you will them to. You have to be inspired. Lucas knew she would never understand that part. Not like Peyton…_

_He realized that Lindsey was still staring at him, studying him. She was probably waiting for a response. He swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in his throat. _

_"Great. That sounds… great." The reply was less than what she had hoped for but more than she had expected._

_"Well, don't sound too enthusiastic about it, Luke."_

_He started to explain but she cut him off before he could even begin. _

_"It's fine." Her voice made it clear that it was anything but fine. "I'm just going to call Julian to give him the good news and we can then get the ball rolling."_

And that was that. He knew better than to back out of it. Lindsey would get angry with him. And he didn't want that. She had been really great these past few years. Sure, her position often caused him no end of annoyance. But she was just doing her job. And she was so proud of him, having his novel (possibly? maybe?) turned into a novel.

But because of that he was now stuck in a city he hated, meeting with people that made his skin crawl, talking about doing a project he didn't want to do. And what was worse, they had set him up in **that **hotel. Thankfully it was a different room. But still, was it any wonder that the first thing he had done when he entered his room was raid the mini-fridge? He knew that being slightly drunk wasn't going to help him forget anything, but at the very least, it would help him get through yet another meeting with slimy movie people.

He walked to the elevator and for the umpteenth time, he started looking over his contract. It was full of lawyer-speak and movie jargon and he had no idea what it said. His lawyer assured him that it was both on the up and up and extremely beneficial to him. Even so, he kept looking over it, hoping that something,_anything _would jump out of the page at him and he would have reason not to sign it. He sighed and he pushed the button for the elevator.

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Peyton stepped into the elevator, her head lightly moving to the music. She hit the button for the hotel lobby and leaned against the wall, fully engrossed in the words of the man who once loved her so much. The man that couldn't wait for her. Usually, anger rose up in her at that point, but today she was much too tired for that. Instead the anger was replaced with a dull ache. Her eyes watered a bit and she had to blink several times before the words on the page came back into focus.

The elevator move downward and two floors later, it stopped.

The elevator doors opened and in walked Lucas Scott. But neither of them noticed the other. They were both so busy with the literature in their respective hands. The doors closed and the elevator started its journey downward once again.

"Lobby, please," he said to his companion in the steel box without looking up from his contract. When Lucas registered no movement beside him, he looked up to see the "L" button already lit up.

He turned to the other occupant with a sheepish smile on his face when he saw her.

Peyton Sawyer was standing there, not even realizing he was there. Her blonde hair was longer than he had last seen it and she looked a little skinnier too. But there was no mistaking those beautiful legs that drove him wild for as long as he could remember.

Her skin prickled a bit and she could feel the guy who had just come in staring at her. She was in no mood to be ogled by some prick who thought that just because she wasn't wearing a habit that she wanted it.

"_**What**_?" Peyton snapped, even before she had made visual contact with the guy. But it wasn't _a_ guy. It was _the_ guy. _Her _guy.

"Lucas?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she pulled the earbuds out of her ears. Her hands were trembling, as if they were begging to touch him. Her body ached suddenly with the need to be pressed against him. But Peyton stayed where she stood and just stared at his amazingly perfect face.

His face that had hardened. "Peyton."

His cold tone hit her like a shot in the chest.

And then the lights went out and the elevator stopped suddenly.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas looked around the elevator in the dim illumination provided by the emergency lights. "What the_ fuck_?"

Peyton swallowed hard. "It looks as if the electricity went out."

He glared at her and she shrank back a little. "Thanks. If it wasn't for you, I'd never figure that one out for myself." His voice just oozed sarcasm and venom.

She felt her heart break into pieces. Peyton couldn't wrap her head around Lucas talking that way to anyone. Especially not to her. She wanted to say something to smooth things over, but found that her voice just wouldn't come. So she just retreated to her corner and sat down. She busied herself by putting away her mp3 player and her book.

Lucas watched as she did so. He had never been claustrophobic but the elevator was far too small for him and Peyton and all of their issues. Hell, LA wasn't big enough. Lucas felt like he was suffocating. He hadn't prepared himself to see her again. All sorts of feelings were bubbling up to the surface. He felt angry, hurt, depressed and annoyed but he was also happy, curious, and aroused.

He opened his cell phone. There was no way that he was going to just stand there in silence with Peyton. That would be too weird. And he was definitely not ready to talk to her, yet. As he was debating who to call, he noticed the lack of bars. No signal. Of course.

Peyton sneaked a glance at him. He was playing with his phone. All the strong lines seeming even stronger in the dim light. Her breath caught in her throat. God, he was so beautiful.

"So…" he starts, unsure of where to go from there.

"So…" she replies, her tone lighter than his.

Lucas closes his phone and looks at her sitting there just a few feet from him. He felt himself growing stupid as the blood rushes away to his brain, leaving him incapable of thinking clearly. Sighing, he rubs at the back of his head and sits besides her.

"Does this happen often?" His voice sounds tired and soft.

She gives him a confused look. "What, getting stuck in a elevator with my ex-boyfriend? No. Not as much as you would think."

He took in a deep breath. She had called him her ex-boyfriend. Obviously, that what he was but it was more the way that she said it that bothered him. It sounded like it was easy for her to say it. Like it didn't hurt her to admit that their relationship failed.

"That wasn't what I meant," he growled. Wow, he didn't mean for it to come out like that. One look at Peyton's reaction told him that she hadn't been expecting the tone of his reply, either.

"Um, uh, you meant the electricity going out," she said, her voice so soft that he almost had trouble hearing her. She shook her head. "No, not any more than any other place, I think."

Suddenly her mind went back to the city-wide blackout in Tree Hill all those years ago. That wonderful rainy night that she had spent with Ellie. Before…

Despite all the time and distance, Lucas could still see where her thoughts were at the moment. He could see she was trying so hard not to cry. A little surprising, considering that the Peyton Sawyer he knew was the toughest girl around. It was hard seeing her as this broken shell before him. Before he even realized what he was doing, his arms were around her, pulling her to his chest.

"Shhh," he whispered in her beautiful hair. He took a deep breath and allowed the scent of her hair to engulf his nostrils. God, the smell of her. Lucas felt an ache at all the memories that came flooding back to him at that.

Peyton held onto Lucas, even though she had felt better the second he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't want to let the embrace end. She couldn't allow it to. Not yet, at least. It felt so right being in his arms. She was dying to know what he was thinking but she didn't dare move. Just in case it brought an end to him holding her.

They sat there in silence, clinging to one another for awhile. Each of them, just holding on to… everything. Suddenly, Lucas pulled away from her so violently that Peyton nearly didn't have time to catch herself from hitting the floor.

"So, what are you doing here?" His voice was harsh, angry even. Lucas hadn't liked where his mind had been going. But he had to know.

Peyton looked surprised. "Do you mean here in LA?"

Lucas shook his head. He couldn't even look at her. He stood and paced a bit as the thoughts raced through his head. She had an apartment in town. She didn't need to stay at a hotel. Did her new boyfriend? "No, I mean, here. The hotel."

"Oh. I was just dropping off some food for a new band that the label's thinking about signing." Peyton didn't understand why he was acting the way he was.

He turned to look at her. Was she lying? One look in her green eyes, even in the dim light, told him that she was telling him the truth. He sighed with relief. Something that wasn't lost on Peyton.

"Why? What was so important about…" It hit her. He thought she had just been upstairs _screwing _some guy. "Is that what you think of me?"

Lucas was in no mood to apologize. Not that he thought he had anything to apologize for. Not really. "I don't know what I think about you, Peyt. Some of your choices have been real head-scratchers for me."

Peyton stood up as well, almost as if her anger was propelling her upwards. "What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." He wasn't going to get into now. He looked up at the dark numbers that should've been lit up. Why the hell wasn't the fucking electricity coming back?

"Anyway, what does it matter what I was doing? You broke up with me, remember?" Peyton hated the way she spit that out.

He whirled on her, his blue eyes dark with rage. "Only because you didn't want to marry me. Because you didn't love me enough-"

She cut him off. "Didn't love you enough? Bullshit. You're the one that didn't love me enough to wait for me."

Lucas grabbed her arm. "Don't you ever doubt how much I loved you. I proposed to you, remember? And you said no!"

Peyton felt the tears sting her eyes. "The only reason you proposed was because you were feeling insecure about the relationship. That's it. And I didn't say _no_, Lucas. I said _someday_. By leaving the next morning, you're the one who said no. To our entire relationship."

His grip loosen on her arm, but his anger was still there, radiating off him. How dare she put the blame on him? No one could ever doubt how much he loves her. Loved… he had to remind himself. Past tense. Always use past tense. His eyes took her in, a ball of fury underneath those blond locks. And he knew, there would never be a past tense with her.

"I called you. I invited you to my book signing and **you** never came." His voice had dropped the angry tone, but there was still a challenge there.

Peyton chuckled. A bitter angry laugh that Lucas could never have imagined coming from her. "Just so you could rub in your new girlfriend? Yeah, I went, Luke. And I saw you with your new skinny little girlfriend all over you. Sorry to have denied you the pleasure of knowing that I did see you two together for so long."

Her confession had struck him silent. She had come. She had seen him with his new girlfriend. Girlfriend? What was she talking about? Oh... Lindsey.

Lucas swallowed thickly. "You don't understand. Lindsey, um... she was just my editor, Peyton. There was nothing going on between us. I was still…"

He stopped. She didn't deserve to hear that he was still hoping that they would get back together. Peyton studied him and prayed the darkness would hide the answers away from her.

"So, then there's nothing going on between you two?" Her voice was a little higher than usual.

Lucas looked away. "Well, no. We're together now. She's my girlfriend."

Peyton had to bite her lip to keep from crying. "Oh, congratulations. I hope you will be very happy together."

She was lying. She knew it. He knew it. Even so he asked, "Do you mean that?"

This was too much. "No." She took a deep breath to keep the sob from escaping. "I lied."

"Oh." That was all he said. The same damn thing he said when she admitted that she was in love with him in her bedroom. For a writer, he sure did have a limited vocabulary sometimes.

"But that's okay. After all, you lied too," she said.

"What? When?"

"In your book, Lucas. When you said that you would always be in love with me." The tears couldn't be denied any longer and they began to fall. "That was a lie."

He was torn. There was the part of him that wanted to save her, to kiss away the tears and the pain. And then there was the part of him that was too proud and angry to cave in. The same part that convinced him to leave her sleeping in the hotel bed. The part that kept him from calling her. The part that he wasn't going to start denying now.

"How can you think for one second that it was anything but truth?" He was pissed at himself that his voice sounded a little shaky. "I wrote a whole book about you!"

"Half of one, remember? Besides, it was labeled fiction. Because that's what it always was." Peyton sat down and brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She was done. The will to fight had exhausted itself and she was just tired.

He knelt beside her. Lucas wanted to violently shake her. He grabbed both her arms and turned her to him. All the things that he was going to say to her went out the window at that moment and he kissed her.

Their lips pressed against each other and both let out a moan. His hands let go of her arms and tangled themselves in her hair. Her hands went to his face, using it to help her press her lips firmer against his. Mouths opened and tongues dance around each other. The kiss was desperate and passionate, just like every other one between them had been. The kiss seem to last for ages, but in truth, it only lasted a little while before Lucas broke away.

He didn't move away, even though he knew he should. It was dangerous being in such close contact with Peyton. He knew that, but he just couldn't will his body to move from its present location. His eyes fell to her chest as it heaved while she panted for air.

Pants tighten around him. She was panting. Almost as if she needed… He closed his eyes, trying to force himself to calm down. There wasn't anything he was going to do about it, so it was better for him to just relax.

"Wow," she said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah."

"That was… unexpected."

"No kidding," he said, chuckling a bit. "I'm sorry, Peyton, I didn't mean for that to happen. It was just… Well, to be honest, I don't quite know exactly what that was."

She smiled. The first one he had seen on her face since… Jeez, when was the last time he had seen her smile? Its effect on him was instantaneous, he smiled back. He had forgotten how good it felt to see her smiling. He missed it. Lucas didn't know how much he had missed it until that moment.

Peyton took his hands in hers. "Please, don't apologize, Luke. Never apologize for kissing me."

Her face burned. Had she really just said that to him? His kisses were hazardous to her ability to think straight. They always had been. There was always such truth in those moments that she couldn't help but react accordingly.

He laughed at her embarrassment. A nice, easy laugh. The one that only came out when Peyton was around. She looked at him, her cheeks still a rosy pink. She loved hearing that laugh. It was more beautiful a sound than any song she had ever heard.

"So what should I say, then?" His blue eyes twinkled and his mouth keep curving upward, despite his best intentions to keep a straight face.

Green eyes met blue and all the merriment went away, replaced with something more serious, but no less joyful. True genuine affection. Love, even.

"You should say that you like it." She was serious. Peyton watched his face for a reaction.

His eyes lowered from hers for a moment before meeting them again. "Did you?"

She smiled again. "Of course I did."

He nodded. "Me too."

Her smile widened and she let out a breath he hadn't even realized she was holding in. Lucas couldn't help laughing at that. And Peyton raised an eyebrow.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You," he said, snickering slightly. "You were actually worried that I was going to tell you that I didn't like it."

"Well, you have been known to lie, on occasion," she said defensively. At the look he shot her, she held up her arms. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I was embarrassed and you were teasing me. I'm sorry."

He sighed as sat back against the wall beside her. "It was a good kiss, Peyt. They always are with you, you know that."

"I know. For a moment there, it almost felt like old times." There was a dreaminess to her voice and Lucas knew what she was talking about.

But he couldn't go there. Not right now. He had to change the subject. "So, LA hasn't changed much since the last time I was here."

Peyton willfully pushed away all the thoughts conjured up by his referral about the last time that he was in town. Instead she said, "Luke, what are you doing here?"

"Do you mean in this hotel?"

"No. I mean, well yes, but no." She looked at him. "I mean what are you doing in LA? Are you on another book tour? I didn't know that-"

"No book tour," he said, cutting her off. "No second book, actually. I haven't been able to write since… since Ravens."

Peyton didn't really have any idea on how she should've responded to that so instead she just asked, "Then why are you here in LA?"

For a moment, she dared think that he was going to tell her that it was for her, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She knew it wasn't true and there was no point getting her hopes up just to get them dashed.

He cleared his throat. "Actually," he began, his ears turning red. "I'm signing a contract for the rights to turn Ravens into a movie."

"Oh, that's wonderful, Luke!"

There was something so genuine in her joy for him. Like she was proud of him and that was it. Lindsey was proud of him, obviously, but there was something that made him feel like she was proud of herself, too. Not that he was denying she had any right to feel that way, it just tainted it a bit for him.

But not with Peyton. All that pride? It was solely for him. It was so intoxicating being with her. He was beginning to think that he was addicted to her. She hugged him, pulling him close to her. Her breasts pressed against his chest and he was having trouble breathing.

Okay, he needed to change the subject. Immediately. "So, I noticed you were pretty engrossed in a book earlier. What was it?"

Peyton's eyes widened suddenly and her face turned redder than he had ever seen her. Even in the little illumination provided by the emergency lights he could see the deep shade of red that she was turning. "It was nothing."

"Like hell," he said. It was definitely something or she wouldn't have reacted the way that she had. "What is it? Are you ready some trashy romance novel?"

"No!" Her voice was high and she pulled her purse closer to her. She held it protectively against her chest. "Luke, don't worry about it, okay? It really is nothing."

Oh, the curiosity. He eyes fell on the bag cradled against those gorgeous breasts. Lucas bit back a smile and made a grab for it. However, Peyton had been expecting that from him, so she pulled away at the last second. She shouldn't have bothered, though. He was quicker and stronger than she remembered and he tackled her to the ground.

Lucas was on top of her now and he looked down at her face, and he was struck by how beautiful she was. The dim light was enough to show him that her beauty had grown in his absence and that fact hurt him. It hurt that he hadn't seen her these past few years. He shook his head. He wasn't going to let himself think about that now. His mind focused on the task at hand. Find out what Peyton was reading. And there was only one way left to do it.

He tickled her.

She shrieked. Her body convulsing underneath him. Loud giggles and gasping and begging for him to stop. But he didn't stop.

"No… Please… I give up," she managed to get out between gasp and fits of laughter.

"Yeah?" Lucas asked, looking down at her, keeping his weight on her so she couldn't escape.

"Yes." Her breath was ragged and her face was flushed. Tickling her had been a bad idea to get his mind off missing her. He was now missing her in a whole other way.

"Then what book is it?" Lucas asked, the arousal seeping into his voice had turned it husky.

She swallowed hard. "Yours."

It was the last answer that he expected to hear and it was also the last answer he should've heard. It was the last straw. It was too much. Her body lightly wriggling underneath him, pressing against him in a way that was eliciting certain reactions from his body. He couldn't help himself any longer. Lucas looked at Peyton's beautiful face and leaned down an kissed her again.

He needed her, wanted her and he was going to take her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, a couple of things to note: 1)This part is a little more mature than the other two chapters. I've tried to keep as clean as possible, but you know how it is. And 2) For all those wondering about Lindsey... here you go. The reviews so far have been great and I'm really pleased that you've all been enjoying the story so far. Unfortunately, this is going to be my last update until the weekend is over. Hopefully this will hold you guys over until Monday.**

**__________________________**

Their lips pressed against each other again and again. Hands wandered over each other, reacquainting themselves with the curves and lines that they hadn't forgotten. Their bodies moved against on another in perfect harmony.

"Luke," Peyton gasped as their mouths took a beak from each other just long enough for each of them to remove their shirts. "What is this? What are we doing here?"

Once the offending articles of clothing were removed and tossed aside, Lucas took her face in his hands and shushed her. "Shhh… Peyt. Just shhhh…"

And he meant it. As a writer, no one knew better than him that words would just complicate things. Because words usually led to thoughts which usually led to actions. Different actions than those that were happening right now. And all he wanted was Peyton. And if anything put a stop to it, well, he wouldn't be able to deal with that. So he continued kissing her and she responded the only way she knew how, by kissing him back.

Her breath was warm and moist on his neck and he felt it tingle his skin as she kissed down to his collarbone. A light sound escaped his lips as she found his spot. She had been the first person to find it, and as of yet, the only one who knew of its existence. That one little action made his pants feel three sizes smaller than it already felt.

Peyton knew by the way that his body immediately shuddered at her touch that time hadn't dulled her abilities to bring him pleasure. Pride washed over her for a second before the desire for him took its rightful place. As his hand glided over her legs and up her skirt, she had to admit that he hadn't forgotten any tricks himself.

He had been right, she knew that. Now was not the time for talking. They had hours, days, weeks, months, even years to talk and catch up. They had missed each other _so much _during their time apart and by the way their bodies where grinding and gliding against each other, the time had been far too much for both parties. Lucas shifted his weight off her and lied beside her. His hand came out from under her skirt with her underwear.

"Mmmm…" was all she could get out as he slid the tiny piece of slinky material down her legs and away from them. He watched as she undid her bra and threw it so that it joined the rest of the unnecessary clutter. Peyton watched as his eyes took in her nakedness and await his approval. Which she got when he bit his lip and desperately groped her beautiful breasts. Their eyes met and the arousal was apparent in both her green eyes and his blue.

He leaned down and kissed her deeply and passionately, the way that only Lucas Scott could kiss Peyton Sawyer . Her legs responded by opening just enough so he could lie between them. That was more of an invitation that he needed. Without breaking the kiss, he moved from beside her and to where he felt he belonged. She felt him settle his weight back on her and she pulled him closer to him by wrapping those much admired legs of hers around him. He answered that by grinding his slacks-covered crotched against her bare one.

As he felt the wetness seep through down to his skin he knew that the pants were definitely going to have to be dry-cleaned. Lucas knew from experience that Peyton was not an easy thing get out. After all, three years could not erase the stain she left on his heart.

He chuckled in her mouth as her nails lightly scratched his back with pleasure. He grinded himself against her again, reminding them both of the current lack of purpose his pants served. And then suddenly, her hands were off his back and were between them, fighting with the button on his slacks. She had never been any good at that part…

"_Ow!"_

_He sat up, concerned. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"_

"_Fucking thing," she cursed as she popped her thumb in her mouth. Peyton saw Lucas watching her, probably expecting an answer or something and she nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I just broke a nail on your stupid fly."_

"_Excuse me? You broke a nail?" He couldn't believe that he had heard her correctly. Lucas bit his tongue to keep from laughing to no avail. _

_She glared at him as he fought for breath between chortles. He looked over at her, still with her thumb in her mouth and he succumbed to another fit of laughter._

"_I'm sorry. It's just… how could you break a nail undoing a button?" Lucas willed himself to keep from sniggering. _

_Peyton just gave him another dirty look. She took the thumb out of her mouth and lifted her chin defensively. "Stop laughing, asshole. It's not my fault that your stupid jeans are harder to get into than Fort Knox."_

_He just shook his head at her and poked at her. "You know, Brooke never seemed to have any trouble with it."_

_She swat at him and he caught her hand and pulled her close to him. Peyton was fuming. "Then why don't you go back to her, then?"_

"_Peyt, I was just kidding. I'm so sorry," Lucas cradled her half-naked body to his chest. He then took her chin and lifted her face so he could look her in the eyes. Those beautiful eyes that he could get lost it. The same ones that were tinged with doubt at the moment. "Too soon?"_

"_It's always going to be too soon for that joke. Jackass." She tried to pull her face away but despite his gentle touch, the grip was firm. "And you don't want to joke around with me about past lovers. Don't forget, I slept with your brother."_

"_I remember. It must suck for Nathan being inferior to me in both basketball __**and**__ sex." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes at him. "You are so lucky that you are so cute."_

_Lucas grinned at her. "Yeah? And why is that?"_

"_Because if you weren't, I would just simply shatter your ego."_

"_Oh really?"_

"_Yes." Peyton folded her arms across her chest. She huffed, "I'm just too nice to stoop down to that level, you know."_

_He kissed her. "I know."_

_Lucas kissed her again as he pushed her down onto his bed and climbed on top of her, their mouths still joined. He started undoing his own fly when Peyton's soft hand stopped him. He broke the kiss and looked at her smiling, softly._

"_You know I love you, right?" She stared into his amazing blue orbs as she said it. _

_He nodded. "And you know that I love you, too. Right?"_

"_Yeah." She sighed. "But you're still a jackass. And tonight you're going to be a jackass with blue balls."_

"_**What**__?" Lucas asked as Peyton began giggling. She had effectively turned the tables on him. "You cannot do that to me, Peyton. You can't."_

"_Oh, I can't?"_

_His growl was undeniably animalistic. "No, you can't. Please, Peyt. I need it."_

"_Well, maybe a little begging might persuade me to change my mind." Peyton licked her lips as Lucas scanned her face._

"_A little begging, huh? Yeah, I can do that."_

_And with that he began kissing her neck. Her toes curled as he started kissing lower. Every time his lips made contact with her skin, she shivered. Her entire body was covered in goose bumps._

"_Oh my God," she let out as she felt him kiss down her stomach until he was eye level with her panties._

_Once again, she was rewarded with that grin of his which made her underwear even more uncomfortable with appearance of new moisture._

Their eyes met and somehow they knew that they were thinking about the same memory. Both faces lit up with a smile and Lucas touched a hand to Peyton's.

"Here, let me do it."

Peyton nodded gratefully and having been relieved of that task, she began running her tongue over his left earlobe. His back arched slightly at the gentle flicks of her tongue on such a surprisingly sensitive area. Her nimble little tongue distracted him for a second from his task. But just for a second before he went back to undoing his trousers.

Lucas hated himself for it, but he had to admit that he had been pleased that Peyton still had trouble undoing men's pants. He quickly pushed that train of thought out of the station before it conjured up thoughts and images that would ruin the entire thing for him.

Luckily, Peyton helped him immensely with that task. For when the pants were undone, she hooked her toes in the pockets and pushed the slacks down his toned muscular legs. As Lucas kicked them off his feet, Peyton started in on his boxers. He pulled her skirt down and off as well. Soon, all clothing had been discarded and left in a pile beside them, leaving them both to admire each other in their nakedness. The was a moment of contentment in that moment, like everything was how it should be. Like everything was right with the world.

And then he settled back into place between her legs. This time there was nothing standing between him and his goal. Their lips met as the bodies joined again after such a long time apart. Moans, groans, grunts and sighs filled the elevator that had previously felt so small but now felt cavernous. There was no fumbling or awkward mishaps. Their bodies were completely in sync with each other. The way it had always been between them.

Much to Peyton's delight, Lucas had not forgotten how to bring her to brinks of pleasure over and over again. She had screamed out his name several times already and her voice was being to grow hoarse. Still, he did not stop. He was like a man possessed. And maybe he was. All she knew was that if she wouldn't mind if he never stopped making love to her.

Because that's what they were doing. Making love. They're weren't just having sex. They weren't screwing or fucking or boning or bumping uglies (a term Peyton despised, because surely there was nothing ugly about either of the things that they were currently bumping). When Peyton and Lucas get together, it always means something. She learned way back in high school that sex with Lucas wasn't just sex. And it never was going to be.

It never failed to surprise her how sex with Lucas could be gentle and rough, soft and hard, sweet and raunchy all at the same time. Sweat glistened on his forehead from the exertion and her hair had darken slightly from the perspiration. Another thrust and she felt herself climax again. His mouth was on her throat as her voice gave out.

That last tightening of her muscle had been too much for him. Lucas unconsciously quicken his pace and started grunting. Peyton knew he was close and she sucked at his spot. His hands balled into fists beside her head. She lifted her hips to meet his and pulled his head down so she could start kissing him and he got closer and closer to his finish.

And there it was. He groaned out her name into her mouth as he exploded within her. They panted for air as he rested his forehead on hers. Their union had been so passionate and desperate and _long_ that they needed to catch up on their breathing. It was pure bliss for them, as they lied there, basking in the afterglow of finally physically expressing their love for each other after so long. Peyton smiled up at him. She had forgotten how it felt to be happy.

He smiled back. After a deep breath he said, "Wow."

She burst out laughing, leaving him confused. That is, until he realized that was the exact same thing he had said after they kissed earlier.

"Guess you make me stupid, Peyt."

"No, it's okay. It was definitely a 'wow' moment." She ran her hand through his hair. "It was amazing, Luke. Simply perfect."

He shrugged. "It was great. But not perfect."

She was crushed. "What?"

Lucas kissed softly. "Perfect would have definitely been anywhere but this elevator."

She nodded. "You're right. But other than that, it was as pretty close to perfect as it gets, I think."

He wrapped his arms around her tight. She felt so right in his arms. She fit him like they were two pieces of a puzzle. Being with her was like an elixir for him. After one session with her, he felt like he could take on the world. He was ready for anything. Well, he was ready for anything but what Peyton's next words were.

"I love you."

He stared at her. He couldn't believe it. It had to have been a mistake. She couldn't have said what he thought he heard her say.

"Excuse me?"

Her cheeks burned. Everything had seem so reminiscent of their past couplings that the three word phrase had just tumbled out of her mouth. She would have never consciously have said those words at that moment, she wouldn't have had the courage to. But she was glad she said them, because they needed to be said. Lucas needed to know.

"I love you."

His breath caught in his throat. She still loved him. He had often wondered in her absence if she still cared for him. And now the answer, yes. There was only one thing he could do in the face of such a revelation. He admit the truth to her.

"I love you, too."

She shrieked with joy and peppered his face with kisses. He laughed with her, thinking of the things he missed about her. He couldn't wrap his head around all the time he been without her. All that time that he had been with Lindsey.

Oh _fuck._ Lindsey.

His girlfriend.

Peyton couldn't help but notice the immediate change in his demeanor. She watched as he wordlessly got up from between her legs and began getting dressed. He didn't even look at her as he tossed her clothing onto her naked form.

"Luke?"

"Get dressed, Peyton." His voice was hard. There was something unrecognizable in his voice. She felt at a loss. What had happened? What did she miss?

She started getting dressed herself, trying to find the courage to ask what had made his mood change so suddenly. When she was decent, she lightly touched her hand to his shoulder. He turned to face her, his expression dark and clouded.

"Are you okay?" Her voice trembled. She needed to understand what was going on. Surely, he was still happy that they had been together.

"No."

And that was all he said. Peyton prodded, "Why? What's wrong, Luke?"

"Everything." Lucas had to force himself to keep from screaming at her. "My life was going fine until you came and fucked it all up for me."

His harsh words rocked her a bit and she found that she was having trouble breathing. He was mad at her? She leaned against the wall as she tried to get her thoughts in order. Her confusion left her speechless and allowed him to continue his anger-filled rant.

"You can't just come into my life and disrupt it like this." Lucas shook with anger. "You just can't. It's not fair to me."

Suddenly the lights came back on and the elevator lurched downward. But Peyton hardly noticed. All her attention was focused on the boy in front of her.

She shook her head. "You can't mean that, Luke."

"Of course, I mean it." He watched as the numbers on the elevator got lower and lower. The elevator trip from hell would be over pretty soon.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened up to the lobby. Lucas stepped out, blinking slightly at the bright fluorescent lights. Peyton grabbed her bag, following him quickly.

"Luke!" His name came out louder than she had planned it to and the several people turned to watch them. She lowered her voice considerably. "You told me you loved me."

He stopped, his shoulders hunched. "I know. And I meant it. I really did. It's just… it's too much right now, Peyt. _You're_ too much."

"But-"

"Please…" Lucas sounded weary and defeated. He was begging her. When she didn't say anything else, he took out his cell phone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to call my girlfriend now. She's probably wondering what happened to me."

Confusion was replaced by pain which was replaced by anger. She pushed past him, her rage helping her move forward. She kept repeating his words in her head. 'My girlfriend.' Every time she did, she had to force herself not to run back into the lobby and hit him.

As she walked away from the hotel, away from that damn elevator, and most importantly away from _her_ Lucas Scott, Peyton forced herself to calm down. He didn't want her. He had fucked (obviously, she had been wrong and it had **NOT** been making love) her in the elevator and threw her away when he had been done with her.

No, she told herself. That wasn't what happened at all. She still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but she knew that he had meant what he had said about his feelings for her. He loved her, she was sure of it. He had proved it to her a hundred times in that elevator. Whatever the reason he was pushing her away now, it definitely wasn't out of lack of love for her.

Peyton sighed. He had been right. It was too much. She was going to drive herself crazy if she kept reliving the past few hours. She needed to stop thinking about Lucas and find a way to deal with the fact that he wasn't going to be part of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Stuff of note: 1) Lucas can be a total ass (see Season five) 2) In my universe, Nathan didn't hurt his back. Honestly, Naley's been through enough. 3) Thanks again for all the positive reviews, they really are a pleasure to read. 4) I still own nothing relating to One Tree Hill**

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Peyton had been dreading this all day. She knew that it had to be done, sooner or later. Might as well be sooner. "I saw Lucas."

"You _what_?"

Peyton rolled her eyes. She knew that telling her best friend about her seeing Lucas would cause Brooke to freak out, but still.

"I saw Lucas," she repeated, keeping her voice even.

"When?" Brooke couldn't believe that Peyton was acting so calm about the whole situation.

"This afternoon."

"This afternoon? And you waited until now to tell me?" The brunette looked up at the clock on the wall. Even with the time difference, she knew that it had stopped being afternoon on the West Coat a couple of hours ago. "So, what happened? Did you guys fall into each others arms, professing your undying love for each other?"

There was silence on the other end. Peyton didn't know what to say. It was astounding how insightful Brooke Davis could be.

Brooke took her best friend's silence as confirmation. "Okay, , I want details. Are you going to move back to Tree Hill, is he going to move to LA? Or are you guys going to try that whole long distance thing again?"

"No."

"No?" Brooke asked. "What kind of an answer is that? No to what?"

"To everything," Peyton had to fight not to burst out crying. "We're not together, Brooke. He doesn't want me, anymore."

"Bullshit." There were very few things that Brooke took as fact: 1) Orange would never ever be the new black: 2) Everyone's life was a little better after meeting her; 3) Lucas and Peyton were destined to be together.

"He told me that it was too much. That I was too much." It hurt her to repeat his words, but if Brooke was going to have any chance of consoling her, she was going to need to have the entire story. Well, maybe not the _entire_ story.

"He said that?" Damn that Broody. "So, let me get this straight. You see Lucas for the first time in two years, you tell him that you love him, he tells you that he loves you. And then what? He tells you that you're too much? Best Friend, why do I get the feeling like I'm missing some important pieces of the story here?"

"Well, maybe."

"Spill, Peyton. I'm serious," Brooke warned. "If you leave anything out this time, I'm going to kick your skinny ass cross-country."

The depressed blond had to laugh at that. "All right. It all started when we got trapped in an elevator."

"You're kidding."

"I'm not," Peyton told her. She took in a deep breath. "So, we started off yelling at each other, playing the blame game. And then he kissed me and I kissed him back. We talked about… something. Oh yeah, they're turning his book into a movie. And then he got on top of me-"

Brooke, who had been more than content to sit back and hear her best friend babble about what had transpired between the two blondes, couldn't let that last bit of information slide. She interjected, "He got on top of you?"

"It was nothing, he was just trying to find out what book I was reading and he just started tickling me for information. That's all. Well, until…"

"Oh, P. Sawyer, tell me you didn't."

"Yeah, I did. I mean, we did." Peyton had to continue the story or she was going to lose her nerve. "And then we exchanged 'I love yous' and then… And then there was nothing. He told me that I couldn't just walk in and mess his with his life. And it just went downhill from there. Anyway, there it is, okay? The whole story."

Brooke did not fail to notice the way Peyton's voice had begun to sound a little high. Something about the situation bothered her. The brunette knew that math wasn't exactly her forte, but it still didn't add up for her. Lucas had been crushed when Peyton hadn't said yes to his proposal. How could that be the same person who would sleep with his supposed love and then talk to her like that. "You know, sometimes I don't get that boy. How could he do that to you?"

"I don't know, Brooke." The tears started to flow immediately. It was useless now to get them to stop. "It was just so awful. The way he told me that he was going to call his _girlfriend_… it was just so heartbreaking."

Ah, there it was. The missing piece of information.

"He has a girlfriend? Jesus, Peyton…" Brooke wished she could reach through the phone and strangle her best friend. This was so typical of the blond pair. "At least tell me that you didn't know he had a girlfriend until after the fact."

"I can't," Peyton admitted. "But I can honestly tell you that I totally forgot all about her when we first started kissing."

"I believe you. I'm still disappointed in you, but I believe you." Why did Lucas bother dating other girls when he always cheated on them with Peyton? Brooke had to squash the feelings of resentment that the conversation had brought out in her. It had been a long time since their love triangle and she was completely over it. Most of the time. At least this latest development made Brooke feel better because of two things: 1) It was nothing personal against her. It would've happened with ANY girl that wasn't Peyton. And 2) Lucas and Peyton had only _kissed _each other back then. "Besides, as sucky as it is what you did, what Lucas did was much worse."

"Brooke, I love him."

"I know you do." The brunette took a deep breath. In spite of Peyton's claims to the contrary, Brooke never doubted the fact that Peyton was still completely in love with him. "And I also knows that he loves you, too. He just needs a little time to sort things out. Don't forget, Lucas Scott sucks at processing emotional information."

"No, it's different this time. He doesn't want me anymore. It's over. We're done. So much for 'True Love Always.'" And at that Peyton completely broke down. Heart-wrenching sobs wracked her body and she could only cry into the phone.

Her best friend sat there, on the complete opposite side of the country, helpless to do anything for her. She wished she was physically there for the blond mess. Brooke wanted, more than anything, to wrap her arms around her best friend and just help her through this ordeal. Well, if she couldn't be there for her in person, she was definitely going to be there for her emotionally.

"It's okay, Peyton. It's all going to be okay, I promise."

"How can it be okay?" Peyton said. Or at least that what Brooke believed that Peyton said. It was kind of difficult to understand through the sobs and gasps.

"I don't know," was the brunette's honest reply. "I just know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that this gets fixed."

"Thanks, B. Davis. I love you."

"I love you, too, P. Sawyer."

-------------------

There was a shrill noise coming from beside him, waking him. What was that? He opened one eye to see where the offending sound was originating from. The phone, of course. Why was it ringing at… quick look at the clock… 2:12 in the morning? Who ever was the one calling them at this hour was going to get his or her ass kicked.

He answered the phone groggily, "'Lo?"

"Nate, hey. Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. But of course I would've woken in you, it's the middle of the night there…"

Nathan was sure that Lucas was still talking as he lowered the phone from his ear. But he didn't care. At this hour in the morning, Lucas Scott wasn't his older brother. When his phone calls interrupted sleep time, Lucas Scott was his wife's best friend. He jostled his wife awake. At her sleep-drenched confusion, he shoved the phone in her hands. "For you."

"Hello?" Her voice was heavy with sleep. Oh precious sleep.

"Hales! Hey. Sorry to have woken you," he apologized.

"S'alright, Luke. What's up?"

"Why would you ask that? What makes you think something's up?

Haley sighed. Apparently this was not going to be a short conversation. She got up from her nice warm bed and shuffled down the hall. Her voice dropped down to a whisper as she passed her son's room. "If I hadn't already guessed that something was up because of the time you called, your reaction to the simply question most certainly gave you up."

Lucas knew that when he had called his best friend that he was opening himself to her intuitiveness. But he had to talk to someone. And he couldn't think of anyone who he would have preferred to spill his guts to. Well, that wasn't necessarily true, but _she_ hadn't been an option for him these last three years. And _she_ definitely wasn't an option right now.

"So, you know I'm in LA, right?"

"Yes. Trust me. I'm not the one in this conversation that seems to have forgotten about the different time zones."

Lucas cringed. Haley was cranky. But he knew that was something he had to suffer through if he was going to talk to her that late. Hopefully being tired would dull her ability to pick up on things that he didn't want her to pick up on.

"Well, you know who lives in LA, right?"

"Are you going to make me guess, Lucas? Seriously?" She couldn't believe it. Was he really doing this to her right now? She had half a mind to hang up on him and turn the ringer off until it was morning and she was fully rested.

"Haley…"

"What?" She took a deep breath, ready to explode a diatribe of epic proportions on him when it hit her. "Peyton."

"Yeah."

"What happened? Did you see her? Of course you did, that's why you're calling at such an ungodly hour." She was fully awake now. "So…?"

"She looks good." But then again, he always thought she looked good.

"Well."

"Well, what?"

"No, Luke. She looks well." Haley sometimes wondered at his ability to be a competent author when he so often made such glaring grammatical mistakes.

"Honestly?" Lucas asked, incredulous. "You're doing this _now_? Would you rather correct me or listen to my story?"

"Sorry, I'm a teacher," Haley reminded him. "You know perfectly well that we all have things within us that we can't turn off."

Yeah, he knew. But if she was looking for oral confirmation, she was out of luck. "Anyway," he pressed on. "She looks _well_."

"Lucas, you didn't wake me up just to update me on Peyton's physical appearance, right? So, talk to me. Please?"

He sat on his bed. The big empty bed that reminded him so much of the one that he had left Peyton sleeping in so long ago. "I'm trying to, Hales, I promise."

"I know."

A deep breath. "We got trapped in an elevator."

"Sitcom, much?"

"No kidding." Lucas had to laugh. It really had been a bizarre occurrence. "And of course, we were the only two in the elevator when the electricity went out."

"Of course."

"So, we talked. Well, most of it was arguing, if you want to get all technical."

Haley was quiet for a moment, waiting for Lucas to continue the story on his own. When he didn't, she gently prodded, "And then?"

"She told me she came."

"What do you mean?"

"Peyton. She came to my book signing. She came and she saw me with Lindsey and thought that we were together. She thought that I had called her just so I could rub my new relationship in her face, so she just left."

"Oh, Lucas." Haley didn't know what else to say. She knew that he had been crushed when he thought Peyton hadn't shown up. "But does that even matter now? You're with Lindsey-"

"I _know_," he cut her off fiercely.

She was shocked at the force in his voice. Something had happened. "Then what?"

"Then nothing. I'm still here with Peyton in the elevator. Wanna say hi?"

His sarcasm did nothing to assuage her fears. She knew how weak he was when it came to Peyton. "What happened?"

"We had it out and we went our separate ways."

"_Lucas_," she warned. Haley was getting tired of him dodging the subject. She knew he couldn't have done anything _too_ bad, but she'd feel better once she knew what happened.

"What do you want to know? That we kissed? Okay, fine! We kissed and it was like the last three years never happened?" He was shouting at her. He knew she didn't deserve that, but he couldn't help it. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You kissed her? What about Lindsey?" Haley gripped the phone so tight that her knuckles were going white. "You remember Lindsey, right? Your _girlfriend_?"

"Jesus, Haley, get off your high horse for a second. I didn't call you to be scolded like a three year old caught with his hand in the cookie jar."

"Then why did you call me, Luke?" Haley was growing more and more upset with her best friend, but she had to keep reminding herself to keep her voice down. "I'm not going to congratulate you for cheating on you girlfriend with Peyton. Again."

"It was only a kiss," he lied. He hated that he was lying to Haley, but if she was reacting like that over a kiss… He didn't feel like starting World War III over something he couldn't take back. Not that he wanted to. "Besides, you're not exactly faultless. Or did you forget that _you _kissed Chris Keller?"

"Luke, that was ONE time. You can't keep throwing my one indiscretion in my face every time you cheat with Peyton."

"I know," he said wearily. "I just want you to realize that people make mistakes. And you can't go back and change it."

"You're right," she agreed. "But Lucas, you _can_ learn from your mistakes. My issue is that you keep making the same ones over and over again."

"She was reading my book," he said as if that would explain everything.

It didn't, but Haley knew that it was an important fact. "Really?"

"Yeah, and she told me she loved me."

"What?" Haley was surprised. Not at the fact that Peyton still loved Lucas. Of course she did. Haley knew that the blond girl would always have feelings for him. She was surprised that Peyton had admitted it to him like that.

"God, Haley. You should've seen her. She was all vulnerable and honest and she told me that she still loved me."

"What did you say, Lucas?"

"I told her I had a girlfriend." Great, another lie. But he couldn't tell Haley the truth. Because if he did, then it would have major repercussions in his life. Lucas couldn't handle change right now. He was complacent with his life. And he liked it that way. Besides, he didn't have the courage to disclose that information. He couldn't admit to Haley that he still loved Peyton. After all, he was still struggling to admit it to himself.

Haley's heart went out to Peyton. She knew that Lucas words had crushed her. "How did she take it?"

"You know Peyton. She took it as well as could be expected. She's tough, that one."

Yeah, Haley knew Peyton was tough. But she also knew that her friend (could she still call Peyton her friend?) had a soft heart and a sensitive soul. "I'm guessing that the revelation put a stop to everything, right?"

"Right. And then the electricity came back on and we went out separate ways. We didn't say another word to each other."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Hales." What's another lie at this point? "I'm just tired and dying to get back to Tree Hill."

"Well, Tree Hill misses you."

Lucas chuckled at that. "The actual town or the people in it?"

"Both," she answered matter-of-factly. "Seriously, though. Come back soon, we really do miss having you around."

"I miss you guys. A lot. Thanks for this, really."

"Anytime, Lucas. I love you."

Lucas took a deep breath and he said, "I love you, too…"

… _Peyton_.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So apologies for the boring filler chapter that follows. It needed to be done. I'm already hard at work on the next chapter and it will (hopefully) be better and it will definitely be up by tonight or tomorrow, by the absolute latest. **

**Things I love: How hot Lucas looked in the last episode, the concept of the NEXT episode, and Reviews! (Very subtle hint there!)**

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Lindsey let herself into the house. "Lucas?"

Her only reply was the sound of typing coming from his room. She sighed. She knew that she should be happy that he was writing again, but it bothered her that he was only interested in writing (and rewriting) that goddamn screenplay.

For the last six weeks, ever since Lucas had come back from LA, the screenplay was the most important thing in his life. He went to bed really late and woke up really early. Well, on the days he bothered to go to bed at all. And when he wasn't busy writing it, he was on the phone with Julian, the producer, talking about it. She didn't understand how he could have been so ambivalent to it before and now his passion for it was consuming him.

Lindsey never thought that she would be so jealous of a piece of writing. But she was jealous. Her boyfriend had barely looked at her these last six weeks. It felt like she was losing him. She had tried talking to Haley about it, but the young mother had not wanted to get into it and had quickly changed the subject.

Lindsey walked in to his room to see him hard at work in front of his laptop. "Lucas?"

He looked up at her. After a beat, he gave her a faint smile. Then he turned his attention back to the laptop. "Hey, Linds."

"Lunch was great. Haley says hi." No response from her boyfriend. "She wanted me to tell you that we're invited over for dinner tomorrow night. Apparently Jamie's going to be cooking for us, so it'll be a real treat."

"That's great," he said, a little distractedly.

"Also, I'm going to be leaving for New York on Sunday," she said, struggling to keep her voice light. "I have a meeting with a writer on Monday and another meeting scheduled for Wednesday, so I was thinking I'd just spend the week up there."

"Okay," he said, obviously not having heard a word she said.

"And once there, I'm going to shave my head and become a mime…"

"Uh huh…"

"Lucas!"

His head shot up and he looked at her. Wait, what about shaving? "What?"

"You're not listening to me."

He nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just… Julian and I finally agreed on the final draft and I just wanted to get it done."

"The final draft?"

"Yeah, once I've finished it, that's it. It's done."

That was the best news that Lindsey had heard in a while. "That's great, Lucas. I guess I'll leave you to it, then."

She left the room and Lucas was about to go back to his writing when a funny little feeling hit him. He asked, "Linds, did you say something about a mime?"

-----------

Peyton was standing in line at the stupid overpriced coffee shop around the corner from her job. She had always hated getting coffee, but lately it had been so much worse for her. The thick strong aroma of coffee would make her stomach turn every time she stepped into the shop. The heavy stench of roasted beans seemed to envelope her and she had to struggle to keep her breakfast in her stomach, where it belonged. She had been fighting off waves of nausea for the last two weeks. The last thing she needed now was to come down with a stomach virus.

She tried to stifle a yawn as she checked her watch. She was surprised to see that barely a minute had passed since she had just checked it. Ever since that fated elevator ride, time seemed to move at a snail's pace. It didn't help that she wasn't sleeping well. She was constantly tired and achy and the whole situation had made her incurably cranky.

Peyton felt like she was slowly going crazy. Everything in her life appeared to be going sour. Nothing seem to give her the slightest bit of joy, anymore. Her encounter with Lucas had shaken her to her very core. It was like being with him put everything else in her life into perspective. It had made her realize something that she hadn't wanted to admit. That her life sucked. The only thing that she had that was worth a damn was her friendship with Brooke.

Her body relaxed a bit at the thought of her very best friend. She didn't know how she would have been able to have gotten past what happened with Lucas if it hadn't been for Brooke. Once again, the brunette proved what a wonderful source of solace she could be. Brooke Davis selflessly gave herself over to being her friend's pillar of strength. Just like she had when Anna had died and when Peyton had called her to let her know that it was over between her and Lucas.

Peyton had lost track of how many hours she had spent cried to Brooke about Lucas. The blonde was enormously grateful for her best friend's support and was starting to feel a little guilty about monopolizing the conversation for the past six weeks. She knew that the whole thing hadn't been very fair to Brooke and it saddened her a bit.

But that was it. No more. Peyton had made up her mind to stop wasting her time (and Brooke's) dealing with her stupid ex-boyfriend. She was done reliving every single moment she spent with him, wondering why he no longer wanted her. As far as she was concerned, that part of her life was over. She was putting an end to feeling depressed over Lucas Scott.

It wasn't like she was fooling herself into thinking that she was over Lucas. She knew she wasn't. Not by a long shot. However, Peyton was over the initial shock of seeing him again. Crying wasn't doing a damn thing to help the situation. In fact, it was impeding her from moving on. Well, at least from getting back the feeling of status quo.

A soft groan escaped her lips when she realized that the line had not moved an inch in all the time that she lost herself in her thoughts. It was going to be one of _those_ days, she could tell. After another quick check of her watch, she realized that it hadn't been too long. But still, she should have been on her way back to the office by then. Any second her boss was going to call her to ask where his coffee was. John Knight wasn't going to ask where _she_ was, because he didn't care. All he would want to know was where his coffee was.

She smiled to herself. If he did call, she was going to spit in his drink.

Unfortunately, the smile did not last long on her face. Something felt wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something wasn't right. Then she shivered. She felt cold. And more than that, she felt disconnected.

She knew she had to sit down, but she didn't want to lose her place in line. As she tried to decide what to do, her vision swam and she felt as if she might throw up. Peyton took in some deep breaths, hoping that it would fix her.

It didn't.

She had never felt this way before and it scared her. She needed help. +She had just decided to step out of line when she felt numb. As to what happened next, Peyton would never know because everything suddenly went black.

----------

"Here's your coffee, Mocha double Latte, extra foam."

Brooke took the coffee in her hands and gives Millicent a look. "Is there foam? Because the last time I asked for foam, I didn't get foam." Brooke pouted. "And I _like_ foam."

"I know. Extra foam. I made sure."

Brooke smiled, her dimples showing. "Thanks, Millie."

Millicent groaned. "Please don't thank me."

"And why not?"

"Brooke Davis!" The voice that could make a world famous designer cringe heralded the arrival of one of her least favorite people.

"That's why…" Millie said, unnecessarily.

Victoria made her way over to Brooke. The older woman took the young brunette by the arm and started leading her away from Millie and into Brooke's office. "Listen, we need to have a little chat about that _friend_ of yours."

"Uh, no, we don't." She didn't even want to know which friend Victoria had an issue with. Someone needed to remind Brooke why she put up with this hag of a woman. "My personal relationships, thankfully, fall out of your jurisdiction."

"Actually, this one doesn't." Victoria gave Brooke a smug smile. "When your friendships encroach on your business, it falls directly into my jurisdiction."

Brooke wasn't up to playing games, she had a company to run. "What are you talking about?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"No, no, no! You're not going to fire her!"

"You're right, I'm not." Victoria smiled insincerely. "That's not part of my job. However, _you_ are going to fire her."

Brooke was about to argue with her when her cell phone rang. Usually, she turned off her phone during important meetings, but never when she was meeting one-on-one with Victoria. If it rang, it gave her an excuse to hightail it out of there. In fact, Millie had strict instructions to call her phone if their private conferences lasted longer than twenty minutes.

"It hasn't even been five minutes, yet," Victoria said as she watched her young designer search for her phone. Brooke took it out of her purse and looked down at it. The call display showed a number that she didn't recognize. On the other hand, area code seemed familiar. Ignoring the older raven-haired female's death stare, she answered it.

"Brooke Davis."

"Ms. Davis, hello. I'm calling you because our records show that you are Peyton Sawyer's emergency contact-"

Everything else seemed to fade away for her. Emergency contact? That implies that there was an emergency. "What happened? Is Peyton all right?"

Victoria huffed. If it wasn't one useless friend trying to pull Brooke down, it was the other. She wondered if she could put a call block on Brooke's cell phone.

"Um, ma'am. I don't really know… She was brought into the hospital for observation after she passed out…"

Brooke's heartbeat was pounding in her ears and so she missed the rest of the what the person on the line was saying. "Where is she right now?"

Her hands grabbed the first available scrap of paper and writing utensil and scribbled down the information. She forced herself to keep it together, she had too much to do to fall apart. She closed the cell phone and dropped it into her bag.

"As I was saying-" Victoria began.

"Not now." Brooke started heading towards Millicent. She knew that Millie would be a huge help in getting things done quickly and correctly.

"Brooke, I'm not done…"

"Not **NOW**, _Mother_." Brooke spit it out with such ferocity that Victoria took a step back.

"Fine. We will continue our conversation at a later time, then."

Brooke didn't care. All that mattered at that moment was getting on a plane and being by her best friend's side. It didn't matter if it turned out to be nothing, the brunette needed to be with Peyton. She couldn't lose her. Not her P. Sawyer.

'Please God,' she prayed silently. 'Please let her be all right. I _need _her.'

She hoped that God wasn't too busy to do the world's youngest up-and-coming designer a favor.

-------

"Do me a favor and get me a doctor to talk to or get me my clothes."

The nurse gave her a sympathetic smile and quickly rushed out of the room. Peyton groaned. She had been in the hospital for four hours already and hadn't seen an actual doctor the entire yet. She didn't understand what the whole fuss was about. She had regained consciousness well before the ambulance had even gotten there.

When the ambulance arrived, Peyton was dead-set on going home. However, the EMTs wanted to put her in a neck brace and take her to the hospital. After a brief argument, a compromise was reached. She would go to the hospital, but there would be no neck brace.

When she had arrived, she was placed in a wheel chair and wheeled over to a bed. Two nurses came in and quickly helped her out of her outfit and into an extremely drafty hospital gown. Once barely dressed, another nurse appeared to stick an IV in her arm. After that, every fifteen minutes, like clockwork, a different nurse would come in, check her vitals and her IV drip and promise that a doctor would see her soon.

The stupid IV pretty much chained her to the bed. Her cell phone had been turned off and taken away from her. Thankfully, the nurse had let her have her mp3 player and her book. Even after seeing Lucas again, Peyton couldn't help carrying An Unkindness of Ravens with her. She knew she was simply torturing herself with it, but she needed it. It was a constant reminder to her that Lucas really did love her once. And she needed to believe that, especially after the way that Lucas acted towards her six weeks ago.

She sighed and went back to the book, glancing up every couple of seconds. Eventually, she hoped, one of the times that she looked up she was going to see a doctor standing in front of her. Alas, fourteen and a half minutes later, it was only another nurse.

The nurse efficiently went through her little routine and was about to leave when she stopped. "I love that book!"

Peyton looked at her, not surprised. Whenever she read the book in public, at least one person stopped to rave about how good the book was.

The blond patient nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"Give you hope, ya know? If that boy could love Peyton that much… well, surely there must be someone like that out there for me."

"Yeah," Peyton said, half-heartedly. She never told any of the book's admirers that _she_ was the Peyton from the book. And that her story wasn't nearly as happy as the book's story. After all, there was no happy ending in her story. "Listen, this IV thing…"

The nurse smiled. "You gotta use the bathroom?"

Peyton nodded and the nurse laughed. She disconnected Peyton's IV from the wall and told her how to get to the restroom. The young artist was thankful that they weren't making her use a bedpan. A little less grateful, though, when the nurse handed her a cup.

"Fill 'er up."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Two updates in the same day? Am I crazy? Nah, I'm just making up for slacking off yesterday and not updating. Anyway, many thanks to everyone for getting through that last chapter. This one, I think, is much better. Thanks so much for all the reviews that I've gotten so far. They really do encourage writers (or at least me) to keep writing and working to make the story as good as it possibly can be. So onto the drama filled goodness:**

**__________________________________**

Lucas looked at the screen. The screenplay, it was done. He grabbed his cell phone and called his producer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Julian, it's Lucas."

"Lucas! Tell me some good news."

"I finished it."

"Excellent." Julian laughed good-naturedly. "And it's perfect, right?"

"Yeah, just how we both agreed." Lucas hit the print button and watched his masterpiece come out of his printer one page at a time.

"So, I got some good news on my end," he said.

"Oh yeah?"

"I got a studio all ready to start pre-production once I get them the final draft!"

Lucas grinned. Somehow, he had gotten exciting for this project. Now, he couldn't remember why he _didn't_ want to turn Ravens into a movie. And much of that was thanks to Julian.

Saying that Julian was enthusiastic about the book, was putting it mildly. Lucas had caught Julian reading his book every time he saw him. The young writer was grateful for the producer. Thanks to Julian, Lucas didn't have to deal with the guilt over what happened with Peyton. He hated himself for having hurt her, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Writing the screenplay also had given him an excuse to avoid spending time with Lindsey and Haley. He couldn't deal with either of them while he was in such a state. But now that he was done…

He groaned.

Julian was surprised. "I thought you would be happy about that."

"Oh, sorry. I am happy, I'm just…" Lucas searched for words. "I'm a little disappointed that my job is done."

"Ah, but the movie is just beginning," Julian said. "And plus, now you have the time to write me my next movie."

"We'll see. I don't think you'll be able to afford the next one."

"After all the money we're going to make on this one? I doubt that," Julian said. "Anyway, bring me my screenplay so we can celebrate."

---------

Feeling a pound lighter after emptying her bladder, Peyton made her back to her hospital bed, carrying her cup. When she parted the curtain, she was overjoyed to see a doctor standing there. The nurse took the sample from the patient, as Peyton was helped back into bed. The doctor was quiet as the IV got reconnected.

Once everything was in place, the young doctor turned to her. "Hello, Miss Sawyer. I'm Doctor Blake and I'm going to be checking you out, okay?"

He held out his hand and Peyton shook it. He looked young, almost Doogie Howserish. He had a warm smile and a firm handshake. His presence immediately put her at ease.

After a quick checkup, he scribbled something on her chart. "Okay, so you passed out."

"So, I've been told."

"How are you feeling now?"

Peyton stopped to think before responding, "Much better, truth be told. Although, I think that has a lot to do with not being suffocated by the smell of coffee."

"I see. Listen, I'm thinking that you're fine, but I want to get some X-rays just to be sure."

"Okay," was all she said. What else could she say?

"I'm going to need to ask you a few questions first." He looked her in the eyes. "Are you pregnant?"

Peyton sputtered. "No! I mean, I haven't even had sex… well, I guess I did…ONCE, but… No. Not pregnant."

"When was your last period?"

"I don't remember, a while ago." Peyton saw Dr. Blake raise an eyebrow. "It's not like that. I'm just really irregular, okay?"

"I'm going to go check on a few things, and I'm going to run some tests on you." The doctor nodded towards the book on the chair beside her bed. "Good book."

---------

Brooke nervously wringed her hands. She hated how far LA was from New York. She had tried Peyton's cell phone a hundred time before even getting on the plane and each time her call had been sent directly to voice mail. She needed someone to talk to. Brooke looked at her watch. She still had a little under three hours to go before the plane landed in LA. At least, it was a private plane, so she could use her cell phone.

She knew what she had to do. She selected the number from her speed dial.

"Hello?"

Brooke took a deep breath. This must be the girlfriend, then. "Yes, hi. May I speak with Lucas Scott, please?"

Lindsey didn't like the raspy voice on the other line. The caller sounded like a phone sex operator or something. "I'm sorry, Lucas is unavailable right now."

"Listen, it is imperative that I talk to Lucas." If Brooke didn't already have reason to dislike the new girlfriend, she was giving the feisty brunette plenty of reasons now. "Please?"

"Well, you can leave him a message and I'll make sure that he gets it."

Brooke sighed. "Fine. Please tell Lucas that Brooke Davis called and that he needs to call me back as soon as possible. Also, tell him that his girlfriend is a bitch."

The designer hung up. That didn't make her feel any better. In fact, she felt worse. How could Lucas choose that "C U Next Tuesday" over Peyton? Brooke was pretty convinced that Lindsey wasn't going to give Broody the message after Brooke's parting shot at her.

So, she chose another number from her speed dial.

"Scott Residence."

"Nate…" Brooke was thankful to hear a familiar voice.

"Brooke? Is that you?" Nathan hadn't heard from Brooke in a while, but he immediately knew that something was up. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Peyton. She's in the hospital." She couldn't hold it in any longer. She started to cry. "I'm on my way to see her now."

"The hospital? Why? Is she going to be okay?" Nathan could feel the fear swelling up in his throat, making it difficult to swallow.

"I don't know. I've been trying her cell phone but all I get is her stupid voice mail." She let out a small sob. "I'm so scared."

"What can I do? Just tell me and I'll do it…"

"I tried calling Lucas but… he wasn't there."

"I'll make sure he knows," Nathan promised. "Listen, if you find out anything, anything at all… call us, okay?"

"I will. And Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Haley there? I kinda wanna talk to her for a bit."

"Yeah, sure. Give me a second."

Brooke took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She felt better knowing that Nathan was going to make sure that Lucas knew the news. By the time that Brooke heard Haley pick up the phone, the designer was almost feeling like herself.

"Oh my God, Brooke." Haley couldn't believe it. "What happened to Peyton? Nathan just told me that she's in the hospital."

"I don't know, Tutor Mom," Brooke answered honestly. "I just got a call from the hospital telling me that Peyton was there after passing out."

"She passed out?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately that's all the information they've given me. I've tried calling her but I can't reach her."

Haley thought for a second. "Did you call the hospital?"

"Yeah, but they can't release medical information to non-family members," Brooke huffed. "They were most unimpressed with my arguments that P. Sawyer was _like_ my sister."

"I'm sure she's going to be fine, Brooke," Haley told her friend, soothingly. "You know her, she's a fighter."

"I don't know, Haley. This thing with Lucas really messed her up." Brooke had no doubts that Lucas had talked to his best friend about his encounter with his ex.

Haley breathed out, "How bad?"

"It's real bad, Hales. It was like when they broke up all over again. Except worse somehow." Brooke knew that Peyton wouldn't be thrilled knowing that her best friend was disclosing such details, but the brunette needed to talk to someone. "It was like she lost all faith in them. I've never heard anyone sound so hopeless."

"Poor Peyton. I can understand her being upset. Lucas should have handled it better."

"No shit, Haley." Brooke was surprised at the way that came out. She just was in no mood to deal with Haley downplaying the wrongs that Lucas did. "You know as well as I do that he shouldn't have done half of the things he did."

"Granted, but it's not like Peyton didn't kiss him back."

"You know if it had only been a kiss, I don't think it would have been that bad."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Haley asked Brooke. "What else happened?"

"That coward. What did Lucas tell you happened in that elevator, Tutor Mom?"

"That they kissed. She told him that she loved him and he told her he had a girlfriend."

Brooke burst out laughing. "That's it?"

"Yeah. Why? What else happened?"

"For one, Lucas told Peyton that he loved her, too. For two, that conversation happened after they had sex."

"_**What**_?"

---------

Lucas walked in to his bedroom to find Lindsey sitting on his bed. "Hey, what's up?"

"You forgot your cell phone." Lindsey handed him the phone. She could smell the alcohol on him. "So, where did you go? I got out of the shower to find that you were gone."

"I'm sorry, I just went to see Julian and drop off the final draft of the screenplay." Lucas looked his girlfriend over, expecting her to squeal with delight. She didn't. She didn't seem even remotely happy about him finishing the screenplay. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Someone called your cell while you were out."

Lucas felt his heart drop. _Peyton._

"Who?"

"Brooke Davis."

Crap. Lucas had been waiting for his ex-girlfriend to call him and chew his ass out for what he did to Peyton. He looked over at Lindsey again. Brooke would never have told his girlfriend what happened. Would she?

"What did Brooke say?"

"She wants you to call her back. She said she needs to talk to you."

"That's it? That's all that she said?" Lucas let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Lindsey didn't notice.

"Yeah, that's all," she lied. She hoped that Lucas would know that she was lying and try to find out what was wrong.

Unfortunately for her, he just nodded. Lucas had enough on his mind to notice his girlfriend playing mind games with him. He had to worry about the dark-haired landmine, Brooke Davis. Lucas knew that he couldn't call Brooke right then. On the other hand, he knew that if he waited to long, she would probably retaliate.

Just then there was a knock on the door. The two of them lifted their heads just in time to see Nathan open the door and walk right into the bedroom. Lucas stood up, noticing at once that Nathan's expression was worried.

"Nate? What's wrong? Is it Haley? Jamie?"

Nathan shakes his head. "No. Luke, it's Peyton."

Lucas felt his world crash down around him.

--------

Peyton glared at the new nurse who came in. "No! No more blood! You guys have taken out like twenty pints already!" Okay, she was exaggerating, but had been pricked and prodded far too many times and she was sick of it.

The nurse laughed. "No more blood. I'm just checking your vitals. Promise."

Peyton huffed. It had been over four hours since she had last seen Dr. Blake and the whole thing was wearing on her. She hated hospitals. There were far too many bad memories involving hospitals for her to ever feel comfortable in one. She was nervous and lonely and wanted nothing more than to have someone she loved with her. Her cell phone had been returned under the strict instructions that she not use it. Peyton wanted to call someone just so she wouldn't feel so alone.

It was too much and Peyton started to cry. After a few minutes, she heard the curtain open and her eyes locked onto to those of her best friend.

"Brooke?"

"Peyton…"

Brooke walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. She had been so scared as to the state she would find Peyton in, but she had to admit that except for being too skinny, Peyton looked fine.

"What are you doing here?" Peyton held onto Brooke for dear life. She was so scared to realize that she was dreaming and that she was still all alone.

"The hospital called me. I couldn't leave you all alone surrounding by hot young doctors."

Peyton laughed and gripped Brooke tighter. "Thank you."

When they parted, Brooke pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat in it. "You okay?"

Peyton nodded. "At least I think so. This doctor came in, said he wanted to do some X-rays, asked me a few questions, and then left, saying he was going to run some tests on me. That was four hours ago. Since then, I've had every needle in the hospital inside me."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Kinky."

"Maybe for you."

Brooke let out a deep breath. "So, how much do you love me for being here in your time of need?"

"Oh no, Brooke. What did you do?"

"I may have told Haley what happened between you and Broody."

"What?" Peyton rolled her head back. "Let me guess. She's not mad at him, but she's pissed at me."

"Actually, no. She's pretty furious with Lucas. Apparently when he told her what happened, he left out a few details."

"That's a surprise."

"Yeah, and there's something else." Brooke gave her friend a sheepish smile.

"Oh God. I'm afraid to ask."

"Lucas knows you're in the hospital," Brooke said quickly. "Now before you get mad at me, he had a right to know."

"Why?"

"Because maybe it would shock him enough to get his head out of his ass."

Peyton sniggered. "Did it?"

"I don't know. He's terrified. I can tell you that. He sounded so scared on the phone. I had promise him some pretty outrageous things to keep him from hopping on a plane to get here."

That surprised the blonde. "He wanted to come?"

"Yeah. Pretty badly."

That made her happy. And it made her angry that it made her happy.

"I bet his girlfriend wouldn't have like that."

Brooke's eyes widened. "Speaking of her… I hate her. I'm firmly on Team Peyton, now."

"Weren't you before?"

"Yeah, but now I'm invested," she explained matter-of-factly.

"Good to know." Peyton took Brooke's hand. "I can't thank you enough for this, Brooke. I really needed you."

"I know, P. Sawyer." Brooke squeezed her best friend's hand. "I hate to do this to you, but I promised that I would call our friends with an update as soon as I saw you."

Peyton nodded. "I understand. You have to go outside though. They have all these wacky 'no cell phone' rules here."

Brooke hated leaving Peyton by herself. Something that Peyton didn't fail to notice.

"Go on, B. Davis. I'll be fine by myself for a few minutes. Just tell everybody that I'm doing all right and that I love and miss them all, okay?"

"Okay, but do go anywhere. And don't faint."

"Wasn't planning on it."

-------------

Lucas was sitting in Nathan and Haley's living room. After an intense argument between the two of them, Lindsey had opted to stay behind. She couldn't understand why he cared that Peyton was in the hospital. Peyton was his ex-girlfriend, Lindsey argued. He shouldn't been so concerned. But he was concerned. He was afraid that he was going to lose Peyton.

Nathan put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to get myself a glass of water. Do you want anything, Luke?"

His older brother shook his head. All he wanted was to know that his Peyton was fine.

"What about you, Hales?" His wife gave him a grateful smile and shook her head. Nathan stood and headed towards the kitchen. When the raven-haired Scott brother had left the room, Haley cleared her throat. Lucas didn't even look up. "Lucas."

"What?"

"I know what happened with Peyton."

Lucas was in no mood for Haley's lecturing. "So what? Does it matter right now? For all we know, she could be dying or something."

Haley could feel his pain and his concern radiating off of him. But that didn't mean that she was going to let him off easy. "Lucas, how could you do that? How could you make love to Peyton and then come back to Lindsey and pretend it never happened?"

"Don't," he warned. "I know I fucked up, okay. I know. And if I get a chance to fix this, I will. But right now… What if she's not okay, Hales?"

"I don't know."

Just then Nathan came back into the living room and there was silence. Until Nathan and Haley's phone rang. Despite being a guest in their house, Lucas was the one to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Huh… weird. I thought I called Haley," Brooke said, confused.

"You did, I just answered the phone." Lucas took a deep breath. "So, how is she?"

"She looks fine. Too skinny, but otherwise okay."

Lucas let out a sigh of relief. To his brother and sister-in-law, he said, "Brooke says that Peyton looks fine."

The young couple embraced, feeling the tension they had both been holding being released slowly.

"So, she's all right?" Lucas asked, suddenly realizing that Brooke had only mentioned Peyton's outward appearance.

"They ran some test and she hasn't gotten the results back," Brooke replied honestly. "But Peyton says she feels fine."

"Can I talk to her?"

"No."

"Please, Brooke?"

"They don't allow cell phones where she is. When she gets released from the hospital, I'll let her know that you want to talk to her."

That seemed fair. "Thanks."

"So, I should be getting back to her. I don't like leaving her alone." The brunette had fulfilled her promise and now wanted to be by her friend's side. "Tell Nathan and Haley that Peyton said that she loves and misses them."

"Oh, okay."

"I'll call them later. Bye."

Lucas hung up the phone. "They still don't know what's wrong with her. Peyton says she's fine, so that's good news. Brooke's gone back to be with her now, but she's gonna call back later."

Nathan pulled his wife closer to him as he asked his elder brother, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, Peyton says she loves you guys and misses you."

--------

Peyton was waiting for the reappearance of her best friend, so she was surprised when the curtain opened and Dr. Blake stepped in.

She sat up straight and hoped that Brooke would hurry back. If he was going to give her bad news, she wanted her best friend with her.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Like a pin cushion."

He laughed easily. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just wanted to be sure that there wasn't nothing wrong with you."

"That's good, I guess."

Just then, Brooke came through the curtain. She stopped short when she noticed the handsome new addition to the room. "Hi, Brooke Davis. World famous fashion designer."

"Dr. Erik Blake. Relatively unknown doctor."

Brooke raised her eyebrows at Peyton and made her way to sit beside her.

"I'm sorry, I was just speaking to Miss Sawyer here-"

Peyton interrupted the doctor. "Please, let her stay? She is the closest thing to a family that I have and she came all the way from New York and-"

Dr. Blake returned the favor by interrupting her. "If you would like her to stay, then she can."

"Good." Peyton turned to Brooke. "You. Stay."

"Anyway, the good news is that the tests show that there's nothing wrong with you."

"Really?" Peyton was surprised. With her luck, she expected had expected to have had some sort of rare incurable disease. "Then why did I pass out?"

"Honestly? I think it was a combination of factors. Stress, dehydration, lack of sleep…" he trailed off. "When I said that there was nothing wrong with you, I didn't mean to say that the results didn't say anything."

"What does that mean?" Peyton was scared again and Brooke took her hand in hers.

"What that means is that the test results show that you're pregnant."

Peyton was sure that she must have misunderstood. "Excuse me, I'm what?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So, yeah, I know you all saw the pregnancy coming. Let's face it, baby equals drama. Once again, thanks for all the reviews, I greatly appreciate it. I ramble far too much, so without further ado: Chapter 7...**

**___________________________**

After Brooke's phone call, Haley had gone off to bed, leaving strict instructions to be awoken if they heard anything else. The two Scott brothers sat in silence for a while. Neither of them had wanted to talk about the fact that they were still worried about the pretty little blonde lying in a hospital bed on the other side of the country.

Eventually the silence became unbearable for the younger Scott.

"Okay, why is Haley pissed at you?" Nathan had noticed Haley's cool demeanor towards Lucas all night. He didn't want to say anything, but he curiosity was getting the better of him. If Haley was mad at her golden boy, then it had to be bad.

"You don't know?" Lucas was surprised. "I thought you two told each other everything."

"We do," he said. "We just haven't had any time to sit down and talk with all of the Sawyer drama going on."

Lucas nodded. "Haley's pissed because I messed up."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that one out for myself." Nathan groaned. It was going to be like pulling teeth, wasn't it? "The question is, _how _did you mess up?"

The blond brother thought for a minute, debating whether or not to tell his younger sibling. He decided for it, hoping that maybe Nathan would help Haley calm down and forgive him. "I saw Peyton. When I was LA. I saw her."

"And kissed her, yeah, I know. Haley told me that." Nathan shook his head. That couldn't be it. Haley had known about it for weeks now and had not been that upset with Lucas. Whatever had made Haley so angry was something new. Something that happened between this morning and when Nathan had brought Lucas to the house. "No, there's something else."

"Well, I may have left some important details of what happened."

"Like what?"

Lucas sighed. If Nathan was going to be any help at all, his brother was going to have to have the whole story. "I slept with her."

Nathan whistled. "With Peyton? In the elevator?"

"Yeah."

"Huh… I don't think we ever did it in an elevator."

"Nate!"

Nathan laughed, "I'm just teasing you, Luke. But seriously, yeah. That's real messed up. No wonder Haley's pissed at you."

"She doesn't understand. Being trapped in that elevator with Peyton, it was as if the world outside ceased to exist. God, she's so beautiful and she was right there within my grasp and I couldn't help it. I just had to be with her."

"Luke, trust me. I get it. You and Sawyer have this bond to each other and as much as you try, you can't fight it."

"So you understand."

"Yeah, but it was still a shitty thing to do while you got a girlfriend. That's what's wrong here." Nathan didn't know when he managed to get to a point where he had the moral high ground against his brother. But he liked it.

"I know, but it's not like I can go back and changed what happened."

"But even if you could, you wouldn't."

Lucas looked at his brother in shock. How had he known? The blond brother hung his head. "No, I wouldn't. Nate, I love Peyton, so much. She fits me so perfectly and everything seems right when we're together."

"Then why are you with Lindsey?"

"Because it's easy."

Nathan stood up, angrily. He wanted to punch his brother. "That's disgusting, Luke."

"I know. I'm going to tell the Lindsey the truth, I promise. I just need to know that Peyton's going to be fine, first."

"Just in case?"

That surprised and hurt Lucas. "No! That's not it at all! I can't think properly right now and I don't want to say the wrong thing, okay?"

"You could always write yourself a script. I hear that you're pretty good at that."

"Nate, please don't be mad at me. I don't think I could handle having another person not liking me right now."

"Then smarten up, Luke," Nathan demanded.

"I know. I will, I promise." Lucas ran his hand through his short hair. "Hey, I know you and your wife hate me, but can I please stay here tonight? I really don't feel like heading back and fighting with Lindsey tonight."

"Fine. But you're making up the couch all by yourself."

----------

Peyton was discharged from the hospital with the doctor's recommendation that she go visit an OB/GYN as soon a possible. The two former cheerleaders made their way to Peyton's apartment in silence. They had made an unspoken vow to wait until the two of them were settled before discussing the little bombshell.

Peyton unlocked the door to her apartment and let herself in. Brooke, carrying her bags, followed behind closely. Once the door was shut and locked, and the two girls were seated on the couch, Peyton turned to Brooke.

"I'm pregnant."

"Seems so."

"Oh God, what am I going to do?"

Brooke took her friend's hand. "I don't know, Peyton. That's kinda a decision that you have to make on your own."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just can't believe it. I'm always so careful, Brooke. The ONE time I slip up and BOOM! I'm knocked up."

"That's what surprises me the most about this, I thought you were on the pill."

"I was, but my crappy medical insurance didn't cover it. It was so expensive and I wasn't planning on sleeping with anyone…"

"Well, you know, there's always condoms, too."

"My bad. I had left my "emergency-fuck-Lucas-in-an-elevator" condom in my other purse, okay?" Peyton clenched her fist. Great, the mood swings were already starting. As if she didn't have enough to worry about.

"All right, so you screwed up and had unprotected sex and ended up pregnant. That's the past. No use thinking about that now, as it's not going to change anything. You need to worry about the present and the future."

Brooke was right. Peyton couldn't change the fact that Lucas and her had made another life together. Thinking about that brought up a whole set of different problems. "How the hell am I going to tell Lucas?"

"You know, there's no law that says you have to…"

Peyton shook her head. "No, I can't do that. I have to tell him. He should know that he's going to be a father."

"Ah, I hope your conversation goes better than mine did," Brooke said, remembering when she thought she had been pregnant in Junior year.

"You ever wonder what if you had been pregnant?"

"All the time," Brooke admitted. "But we were so young then and we weren't in love. And it would have just spelt disaster for all those involved."

Peyton was quiet. She was thinking about the fact that she had a child growing inside her. She knew immediately was her decision was. "I'm going to keep it."

Brooke wasn't surprised. "I thought you might."

Peyton smiled. "You know, I never would have picked this as the way I'd end up pregnant, but… I don't know. It kind of seems… right."

The brunette hugged her friend warmly. "I know what you mean. You're going to be a great mother, Peyton. There's no doubt about that."

"You think so?" Peyton asked and Brooke nodded. "I hope so. At the very least, this baby is going to be very loved."

"Oh, and spoiled rotten, if I have anything to say about it."

"Oh my God! I'm having a baby!" Peyton jumped up. She was happy. She had always known that she wanted to have a child with Lucas. This wasn't exactly how she imagined it would have happened, but it didn't matter to her anymore. Even if Lucas and her never even spoke again, at least Peyton had this little piece of him forever.

Peyton was excited. She had big plans for her little one. She couldn't wait to take her to the fair and the beach and… Peyton looked around her apartment. "This is wrong."

"What?"

"I am not having my baby here." Suddenly, everything was clear. She was unhappy and alone and hated the city she was living in. And now that she had her tummy goblin to think about, she was going to set things right. "Do you mind if I move in with you in New York?"

Brooke's mind was racing. Watching Peyton's excitement over her pregnancy made realize that she didn't want to miss a single second of it. "I'd love to have you move in with me in New York, P. Sawyer. But that's not going to be possible."

Peyton looked crushed. "Oh. Okay. I understand."

Brooke grinned. "Because I'm not going to be living in New York. I'm moving back home. To Tree Hill. And you, Best Friend, are coming with me."

"Brooke, I can't ask you to do that for me…"

"But I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing for me." Brooke sighed. "You're not the only one feeling lonely in a city that doesn't feel like home."

"I'm sorry, I never realized…"

"Not your fault. I hid it because I didn't want you to know that I couldn't handle it."

"So, what are you going to do about 'Clothes Over Bros?'"

"What do you mean?" Brooke gave her a confused look. "It's _my _company, I can do my job pretty much anywhere I want. This is perfect, so stop looking for excuses."

Peyton gave Brooke a half-smile. "You know, Lucas is probably going to hate it."

"I hope so. A little punishment is just what the doctor ordered." The dark-haired beauty showed her dimples. "Besides, we're not moving for him. We're moving back for us. And for my godchild, of course."

The blonde knew in her heart that this was what they were supposed to do. Despite not knowing what she was going to do for work or where she was going to live, Peyton had faith (something that she had been missing for quite some time now) that everything was going to turn out fine. "I think this is a good thing, B. Davis."

"I think so, too. It's been far too long, P. Sawyer. It's about time that we went back home."

---------

Nathan stripped out of his clothes and climbed into bed beside his wife. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled he closed to him.

"Did Lucas just leave?" Haley asked, obviously not even remotely asleep.

"No, he asked if he could stay here the night. He's downstairs making up the couch."

"I'm so angry at him!"

"I know, babe," Nathan whispered, breathing into her hair. "He fucked up royally. He admits it himself."

Haley turned to face her husband, her eyes narrowed. "He told you what happened? That he had sex with Peyton?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Well, at least he's finally being truthful. I guess that's a step in the right direction." She let out a little sigh. Haley had been focusing on her anger so she wouldn't drown in her worry. But now, alone with her husband, she knew she could let go. "I hope Peyton's really okay."

"Me too." He felt the lump rise in his throat again. He missed Peyton. Not in a romantic way, not at all. She was a great friend and she had been there for him when no one else had. But when Lucas and Peyton had broken up, the Scott family had sided with the boy. After all, he was Nathan's brother, Haley's best friend's and little Jamie's godfather. That didn't mean, however, that it didn't hurt him to watch his friendship with Peyton disintegrate.

"She doesn't deserve any more pain. She had enough to last several lifetimes." Haley felt incredibly guilty about not being there for Peyton ever since she had broken up with Lucas. The young mother should have supported her girlfriend as well as her best friend. Now she wondered if she'd ever get the chance to rectify the situation. That terrified her. Haley needed to put things right between her and Peyton. And she had to do it now.

"Do you think Peyton's still in the hospital?" Haley asked. She didn't even wait for a response. She crawled over Nathan and grabbed the phone.

---------

Brooke and Peyton had settled on the couch, awaiting the arrival of the delivery boy when Peyton's cell phone rang. Brooke raised an eyebrow and Peyton looked at the Caller ID.

"It's Haley," Peyton told Brooke before answering her cell phone. "Hey."

"Peyton…" Haley was relieved to hear her voice. "How are you, sweetie? You're out of the hospital, right?"

"I'm fine, Haley. I'm home… well, at least, I'm at my apartment."

"Did you get the test results back?"

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with me. At least not physically." Peyton joked, trying to keep the conversation light.

"That's great news, Peyton." Haley squeezed Nathan's hand and he felt the relief travel from her body to his. "Nathan and I… we were really worried and I'm so sorry for everything,…"

"Hey, didn't you hear me? I'm not dying!" Peyton didn't understand where all this was coming from. "Haley, you don't need to apologize, okay? You and me? We're fine, honestly."

"We're not fine. But we will be. I promise, I'm making it priority number one."

Peyton laughed. "Well, I think I'll give you a chance to make it up to me, then. Brooke and I are thinking of taking a little trip to Tree Hill. What do you think?"

Haley sat up. "Seriously?"

Haley's shriek made Peyton cringe a little. "Yeah, I'm serious."

"When?"

"Don't know yet, we still got some stuff to figure out. But I promise, as soon as we have all the details, you'll be the first to know."

"Good. I miss you, Peyton."

Peyton was surprised at the way Haley said it. "I miss you, too. I'll see you soon, I promise."

Brooke gave her a look as her friend hung up the phone. "My hearing must be going, 'cause I swear I didn't hear you mention the bun in your oven."

"I know I didn't. And it wasn't because I was scared. I just didn't think it was appropriate to tell her over the phone after not seeing her for years."

"I guess you're right. That's definitely a face-to-face announcement."

Another ringtone. This time it was Brooke's cell phone. And it was Lucas who was calling.

"Hello?" Brooke answered the phone, pulling Peyton right next to her and putting the phone between their ears so they could both hear him on the other line.

"Hey, Brooke." His voice was almost unrecognizable. Peyton had never heard him sound so tired and distraught before.

"Oh, hey Broody. What's up?" Brooke was trying to keep her voice as casual as possible and Peyton just shook her head.

"How is she?"

"Who?"

"_Brooke_!" It was obvious that he wasn't in the mood to deal with her games. More's the pity.

"She fine, Lucas."

"So do we know why she passed out?" Lucas was nervous, but he needed to know.

"Yes."

Lucas waited for the brunette to expand on her answer. She didn't. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Why did she?"

"I'm sorry, but explain to me how that's any of your business…"

Lucas sighed. He knew that this conversation would be an uphill battle. "Please, Brooke? I just want to make sure that she's okay."

Brooke smiled over at Peyton, who was fighting a smile. It was nice hearing Lucas be all worried for her. "I already told you that she was fine."

"Is she still in the hospital?"

"No, we're in her apartment. Why?"

"Can I talk to her?" Lucas heard the desperation in his voice and he didn't care. He needed to talk to Peyton. He needed to hear her voice.

Brooke gave Peyton a questioning glance. Peyton bit her lip but didn't answer.

"I don't know, Luke. She's had a rough day…" Brooke was still looking at Peyton, waiting for an answer.

"I won't upset her, I promise. I just need to talk to her."

Peyton finally nodded and Brooke took a deep breath. "Fine, but if you make her cry…"

"I won't."

Brooke handed the phone to Peyton who took a deep breath before saying anything. "Hey."

"Hey, Peyt. How you feeling?" He settled back on the couch and closed his eyes. It was good to hear her again.

"Tired, mostly."

"I can imagine." He knew he had promised Brooke that he wouldn't upset her, but he couldn't help it. "Listen, about how we left things-"

"Not now, Luke." Peyton knew her limits. After the day she had, she was in no state to discuss their last encounter.

"But-"

"No." Peyton was firm. "If that's all you wanted to say then, I guess I'll say goodbye."

"No, wait!" He was terrified that if she hung up that he would never get to talk to her again. "Please don't hang up yet."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because… I love you."

Peyton closed her eyes. "You have a girlfriend."

"I know."

Why was he doing this to her? "Luke, you made your position perfectly clear to me the last time we spoke. If nothing's changed…"

How could she think that nothing had changed? He had been worried sick that he was going to lose her. "Peyt, I was terrified when I heard that you were in the hospital. It cleared up some things for me. I know now that I can't lose you."

Peyton couldn't believe it. She wasn't up for dealing with this either. "I'm tired and this is definitely a conversation for another time. Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. Now, I really need to get some sleep."

"I love you."

Peyton didn't want to answer him. She put her hand on her stomach, where the result of their mutual love for each other was . "I love you, but that doesn't change anything right now."

"I know, but I thought you deserved to know."

"Thank you, I guess. Bye, Lucas."

"Goodbye, Peyton.

As Lucas put his phone away, and settled into his brother's couch, he made a decision. He was going to get Peyton back. Being angry and hurt and blaming her for their break up had done nothing but keep them apart. He hated being away from her. Especially now. He was the one that would swoop in whenever she was in trouble.

He was supposed to be her hero.

Instead, he was just her ex-boyfriend, lying on a couch, over three thousand miles away from her. Lucas couldn't believe what a mess he had made out of his life. He cared about Lindsey, he may even have loved her, but it was nothing compared to what he felt for Peyton. And even though he knew that he was going to hurt by telling her the truth about him and Peyton, Lucas realized that he would be hurting her more by keeping her from finding someone who would love and cherish her as much as she deserved to be. As much as Lucas loved and cherished Peyton.

Hearing her voice was just what he needed. Her lightly accented voice gave him the courage to do what he knew had to be done. At the revelation, he felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He was going to have a hell of a tomorrow. But for now, he needed to get to sleep. He was going to need all the rest he could get if he had any hope of getting through the unpleasantries.

And then he was going to start working on getting Peyton back.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Love, love, love the reviews! Keep 'em coming... please? Anyway, in case anyone wonders, I'm not a Lindsey fan, but I did try not to let any of my dislike for her character seep into this story. Hope I didn't fail miserably. Anyway, I'll try to update this story at some point during the weekend, but I might not have time. But a new chapter will definitely be up by Monday night! Promise.**

**________________________________**

The next morning, Haley woke up early. She should have been able to sleep in. School hadn't started yet and Jamie had spent the night over a friend's house. Unfortunately her internal clock had an alarm that she couldn't turn off. She rolled over to find Nathan fast asleep, breathing heavily. She leaned over him and gave him a small kiss on the forehead.

She smiled as he moaned slightly in his sleep and slid out of bed, noiselessly. Nathan deserved to sleep in, even if she couldn't. Haley made her way downstairs. When she reached the living room, she saw that her brother-in-law was also conked out. Haley didn't really care about Lucas's sleep.

Lucas woke up with a start after a loud bang. Disoriented from sleep, he struggled to figure out where he was. Then the entire night came back to him. He looked in the direction of the noise and found Haley with a pot in her hand.

She gave him a dirty look. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yes," he said. "And I deserved it. I also deserve you being mad at me."

"Well, thanks for your permission."

"I'm going to break up with Lindsey."

Haley blinked. She had expected an argument or at least some rationalization from Lucas. She definitely had not expected that. "You are?"

"Yeah, it's not fair to her. She should be with someone who loves her. Not with someone who's in love with someone else."

"Peyton?"

"No, you.," he teased. "Of course, Peyton. I'm going to get her back, you know."

"Lucas, I think you're getting ahead of yourself here." Haley was glad that Lucas had figured where his head (and heart) was at, but this she was scared that he was setting himself up for failure. "Peyton may not want to be with you anymore. I bet she's pretty angry at you for the way you treated her in LA some weeks back."

"She'll get over it." Lucas sounded so sure of himself that Haley had to laugh. "She loves me, Hales. Told me so last night."

"You talked to her last night?" It must have been after she had. "So you know about their plans, then?"

"What plans?"

"Uh… never mind."

"What plans, Haley?"

"Listen, I'm not getting involved. If they want you to know, they'll tell you themselves."

Lucas gave her a pleading look. "Come on, Hales. Don't do this to me. What plans?"

Haley shook her head. "No, it's not my place. Besides, you have enough on your plate. How are you going to break up with Lindsey?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'll just tell her the truth, I guess."

"She's going to be hurt, you know."

"Yeah, but it's gotta be done, right?"

Haley nodded. "It's good to see you acting so responsible. You lost yourself there for a while."

"I know, but I'm finding my way back."

---------

Brooke groaned. Her cell phone was ringing annoyingly. She looked over at the clock on the nightstand. 6:30? Who was calling her at 6:30? Beside her, Peyton pulled her pillow over her head. Brooke grabbed her phone and just answered it.

"Wha?"

"Brooke Davis, where are you?" It was Victoria. Why hadn't she checked the Caller ID before she had picked up?

"LA."

"That better be the initials of some random himbo you picked up at a bar last night."

"No," Brooke rasped out. "I'm in LA, as in, Los Angeles. You know, that city in California?"

"What are you doing in California? You and I had a meeting this morning at nine, remember?"

"Did we? I must have forgotten," Brooke replied truthfully. "Anyway, I probably already got everything done that you were going to tell me to do and if not, I'm sure that Millie's on top of things."

"Who is Millie?"

"Never mind, Victoria. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a horrible case of jet lag." And with that, Brooke hung up the phone and shut it off.

Her bedmate snickered. "Nice."

Brooke settled back on her side of the bed. "Go back to sleep, P. Sawyer, we don't have to get up for hours."

---------

Lucas quietly let himself into his bedroom. He hated how he felt like his own house felt like enemy territory. He quietly shut the door, not wanting to wake the sleeping resident of the room. He shouldn't have bothered, though.

Lindsey sat up in her bed, glaring at him. "Where were you all night? I was worried sick."

Lucas was surprised. She knew that he had gone over to Nathan's house. "I was over Haley's. You could've come, too, remember? But you chose to stay here."

"You spent the night at Haley's? Why?"

"Because I knew if I came home that we would end up in a fight." Lucas sat on the bed, facing her. "And I couldn't do it, Linds, not last night. Things would have been said that I didn't mean and that wouldn't have been right."

Lindsey nodded. "Well, okay. How's Peyton?"

Lucas hated that even that question was tinged with spite. "She's fine, supposedly. I don't know, I can't shake the feeling that there's something else. Something they're not telling me."

"I know the feeling."

Lucas sighed. "You're right. I have been keeping things from you and I'm sorry."

She looked at him, shocked at his honesty. "So, talk to me."

Here we go. The Band-Aid approach. "I saw Peyton when I was in LA. We talked and we kissed and… I'm sorry, Linds, but we made love."

Lindsey's hurt fought with her anger for her priority. "How could you?"

"How could I not?" Lucas didn't enjoy the way his words were hurting his girlfriend, but he had to be honest. "I love her. I was lying to myself, forcing myself to believe that I was over her. And the truth is I'm not. And I know now that I never will be."

"So, what about me?" Lindsey was struggling with the words, her throat was constricting with the conflict of emotions.

"I love you, I do. But I don't love you in the way that you deserve. I honestly wanted to love you like that, but I just couldn't."

She climbed out of his bed and angrily began dressing. Lindsey had so much to say, but knew that she couldn't. Nothing she could say would even come close to what she was thinking and feeling. She needed to pack up her stuff and leave. And she couldn't do that with him standing there, watching her every move.

"Go."

It was his house, but he knew that she had a point. He needed to get out of her hair while she did what she needed to do. Before he left, however, he needed her to know something. "I'm sorry, Lindsey. I never meant to hurt you."

"_**Go**_!"

----------

Brooke woke to the sounds of gagging. She climbed out of Peyton's bed and hurried to the bathroom to find Peyton standing over the sink.

"Are you okay?" Brooke's concern was obvious and Peyton raised her eyes to meet her friend's in the mirror.

"Yeah, just nauseous. No actual reoccurrence of food, so that's good."

"Well, that could be because you haven't eaten anything since last night." The brunette looked over Peyton's thin frame. "You don't eat enough. You're so skinny that I wouldn't put you on the cover of my magazine."

Peyton laughed. "You never have anyone but Brooke Davis on the cover." At Brooke's raised eyebrow, she shrugged. "What? I have a subscription."

Brooke hugged her friend. "I've missed this, P. Sawyer."

"Me, too. It's been too long, B. Davis. Which reminds me, shouldn't I get some sort of royalty checks for coming up with the name of your magazine?"

"We'll see. After all, you are soon to be unemployed and you're going to need some serious cash flow to appropriately shower my godchild with presents." Brooke eyed Peyton as the blonde ran her hand over her stomach. The brunette felt a little twinge of jealousy, she secretly craved having a child of her own. But, she was getting the next best thing.

"Ah, but you are mistaken. I _am_ unemployed. I called my boss after your little phone conversation with your mom this morning." Peyton laughed remembering the conversation. "He was really concerned with who was going to be getting his coffee this morning."

The two friends walked into the living room and Brooke was surprised at all the brown boxes scattered around. "Jesus, Peyton. You didn't have to start packing all by yourself. You could have waited until I woke up."

"And what help would you have been, B. Davis? You, who swore never to lift anything heavier than a Birkin bag?"

"Peyton, you passed out yesterday. You have to be careful."

"Brooke, I'm pregnant, not incompetent." Peyton gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Besides, it's a furnished apartment. I only packed up my not-so-heavy stuff."

Brooke poked around the boxes and raised an eyebrow. "Like your hundred copies of Lucas's book? I don't know, P. Sawyer, that's some pretty heavy stuff. Emotionally, at least."

"Maybe."

The dark-haired fashion designer sighed. "Compromise? You stop doing all this and you let me get someone to do it for you?"

"Brooke-"

"That's what I'm doing for myself in New York. Come on, let me do this for you. Please?"

"But you're doing so much for me already," Peyton complained.

"Well, I have to make up for all the years of neglect I've bestowed upon you." A flash of her deep dimples showed Peyton that she wasn't going to win against Brooke Davis and the blonde nodded. "Good, now go throw some grungy t-shirts and ratty jeans in a bag and we can go on a shopping spree when we get to Tree Hill."

---------

Lucas was at the Rivercourt, just shooting hoops. His head wasn't in what he was doing. He was just keeping busy while his ex-girlfriend moved out of his house. Ever since he had talked to Peyton yesterday, his body was aching to hear her voice again. But he forced himself not to call. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right.

And it was right to wait until Lindsey was gone, at least.

"You're getting rusty, old man."

Lucas turned to see Nathan standing there. Who knows how long he had been watching.

"Yeah? Why don't you show me how it's done, little brother?"

Nathan laughed. "Maybe later." The smile faded from his face and he grew serious. "How are you doing?"

"Better than Lindsey," Lucas said. "I broke up with her this morning."

"I know. Lindsey showed up at the house a little while ago." Nathan watched his brother's face for a reaction. "She's leaving for New York. And that's pretty much all I can tell you because that was the point that Haley sent me to look for you to make sure that you were okay."

"I guess Haley's not mad at me anymore."

"She wasn't but not I think it all depends on if you were shitty with Lindsey."

"I was honest."

Nathan nodded. "Then she probably won't be _too_ upset with you."

"So, I'm sure Haley told you that I'm planning on getting Peyton back."

"Yeah, she did."

"And?"

"And what? I'm not getting in the middle of this. I love you and I love her. You both hurt each other but also are the best thing for each other. All I care about is that you are both happy."

"She makes me happy. And you know that I can make her happy."

"I know. Just be careful with her. She's probably in a fragile state after the hospital scare yesterday." Nathan looked at Lucas. "And be careful with yourself, too."

"I will be, I promise."

--------

Lindsey hugged Haley tightly. The young mother had been an instant friend when she first started dating Lucas. She couldn't help feeling that now that her relationship with the writer was over, so was their friendship.

"I'm going to miss you.," Lindsey told Haley fiercely.

"I'm going to miss you, too." Haley wanted to comfort Lindsey and tell her that they'd see each other again, but she didn't want to lie to her.

"I keep thinking that I must be dreaming. Six weeks ago, everything was perfect between Lucas and me. One day with Peyton and everything we were building towards goes down in flames."

Haley didn't know how to respond to that. She was pretty sure that it was more complicated than that, but kept her mouth shut.

"God, I hate that bitch. If it wasn't for her…"

Haley opened her mouth to defend Peyton and remind Lindsey that it hadn't been all the blonde's fault when her phone rang.

"Excuse me for a minute, won't you?" Haley moved over to the phone and answered it. "Scott Residence."

"So, you want to start making it up to me?"

Speak of the devil. It was Peyton on the line.

"Hey! You know it." The young mother regarded her guest warily. Wow, this was an uncomfortable position she was in.

"Good, because Brooke and I are on a private jet on our way to Tree Hill right now and we sort of need a ride from the airport."

"You're on your way here? Right now?" Haley forgot all about Lindsey. She was excited to see her friends from high school again.

"Well, not right now, we still got like two hours of the flight left." Peyton giggled. "So, can we expect a famous musician to be our chauffer?"

"No, but will I do?"

"Of course. I'm really looking forward to seeing you and Nate and… God, James must be huge."

"He is. I can't wait for you to see him. So, I guess I'll see you in two hours."

"Bye, Haley. See you soon."

Haley hung up the phone and sat back next to Lindsey, forcing herself to appear morose. Lindsey didn't even lift her head from her hands.

"You have someone coming over, then?" Lindsey's voice was slightly muffled.

"Yeah, but her plane doesn't get in for another two hours."

Lindsey nodded. "Speaking of planes, I should probably get going if I'm going to make it in time for my flight."

"Are you sure? I thought your flight wasn't for a while."

The editor stood up awkwardly and shrugged. "I like getting to the airport early, just in case. So, I guess this is goodbye, Haley."

"Goodbye, Lindsey."

-------

Brooke gripped Peyton's arm as they made their way through the crowded airport. They were home. The warmth and familiarity of being back where you grew up hit them the second that the plane touched down.

Dark eyes scanned around looking for their petite friend, and Brooke realized sadly that she didn't even know what hair color Haley had. Just then Peyton squeezed Brooke's hand.

"There she is!"

Haley rushed forward and the three came together in a group hug. The three girls just stood there holding each other, just enjoying the feeling after being apart for so long.

Haley pulled away first and wiped at her eyes. "Oh my God, you look so beautiful. Both of you."

"Aw, thanks, Tutor Mom. You look pretty fantastic yourself, there." Brooke grinned. "So, when Peyton said we were coming home, she left out a few things."

Peyton widen her eyes at Brooke, who's dimples deepened.

Haley took each of her friend's hand in hers. "Like what?"

"We're moving back!"

Peyton sighed with relief and Haley stopped and hugged them both again.

"That's great because Tree Hill has not been the same since you two left." Haley was happy. Seeing her friends again reminded her how much she needed them. She just hoped that the blonde wouldn't get scared off by the writer.

"Don't I know it," Brooke said, smiling. "So, what are you making us for dinner? I'm starved and Peyton needs to eat."

"Um, about that. Lucas is kind of at the house right now." When she had left to pick the girls up at the airport, Nathan had called her to tell her that he and Lucas were going to pick up Jamie and then head home.

Peyton stiffened up and Brooke huffed a little before saying, "So, I guess we are eating out, then. Unless, you have to go back…"

"No, I am hanging out with my friends," Haley said. "I'm sure the boys can fend for themselves for a night."

Peyton bit her lip. "Haley? Does Lucas know that… did you tell him that…"

Haley shook her head. "I didn't tell him anything and I know Nathan's keeping his mouth shut."

Brooke nodded as they climbed into Haley's SUV. "Good, because I think a surprise might be necessary for Broody to get his act together."

"Actually," Haley began. "He broke up with his girlfriend this morning."

Peyton, who had been trying to get comfortable in the backseat, leaned forward. "What? Why?"

Haley met eyes with her blond friend in the rearview mirror. "I think you know the answer to that."

Brooke clapped her hands. "Good, I didn't like her. But I was kind of looking forward to having ringside seats to a bitch fight."

"I wasn't going to fight her, Brooke."

"Not even for Lucas?" Haley tried to keep an even tone. She had to see what Peyton's intentions were.

"I'm in no condition to do any fighting." Peyton was being honest. She placed a hand on her stomach.

Brooke nodded. "That's true. I guess I could've stepped in for you, though."

All three girls chuckled. Peyton met eyes with Haley in the mirror again. "So, I should probably tell you."

"Tell me what, girlie?"

"I'm pregnant."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: First and foremost, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. It because of all of you that I get the drive to keep writing. Please keep them coming. I also want to warn that this is another slow chapter. Can't be helped. But still, sorry about that. It's also shorter than usual, but it was necessary. I promise that the next chapter will be much more exciting and probably a little longer.**

**___________________________**

Lucas watched as his brother and his son rough house and smiled wistfully. Before his thoughts could run away with themselves, Jamie disentangled himself from his father.

"What's wrong, Uncle Lucas?" The sweet voice of his nephew breaks him out of his reverie.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Well, you don't look happy."

Lucas had to laugh. "I'm fine, J. Luke. I was just thinking about some grown-up stuff."

Jamie rolled his eyes. Grown-up stuff was adult code for boring stuff. "Hey, Daddy, where's Momma?"

Nathan shot a look at Lucas. He wasn't going to be the one to tell him that two of his ex-girlfriends were in town. "I told you, buddy. She's out picking up a few things."

Jamie pouted. "But I'm s'posed to make dinner!"

"I know, but how about we take a rain check on that?"

His son put his hands on his hips, looking very much like his mother when she was annoyed. "I was gonna make macaroni and cheese."

"How about some pizza, instead?" Nathan pulled his son to his lap, trying to appease the boy.

"Extra cheese and pepperoni?"

"And sausage."

"Awesome!"

Lucas grinned. He wished that everything in life could be forgotten so easily with the promise of junk food. But he had to admit, pizza did sound good.

-------

Haley pulled off the road. When the car had completely stopped, she turned to her friend in the backseat. "Did you just say that you're pregnant?"

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Should I be happy for you or no?"

It was a valid question. "Be happy, Hales. I am. It's not how I wanted it to happen, but now I can't wait to have my baby."

Haley relaxed. "Then congratulations, Peyton. I just know you're going to be a great mother."

Peyton smiled. "If I'm half as good as the one you are, then I'll be happy."

"You'll probably kick my ass in that department."

Brooke raised an eyebrow at Haley. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Tutor Mom."

Haley was confused. "What am I doing?"

"You're trying to kiss Peyton's ass so she'll make you Godmother. Well, it's not going to work. That's my position."

Peyton laughed. "Yes, it is, B. Davis. And I've already told you a dozen times today that no one is going to take it from you."

"Good."

"So, I have to know," the young Mrs. Scott started. "Lucas is the father, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is."

"You know those Scotts," Brooke began. "Able to impregnate a girl by just standing downwind."

Haley ignored Brooke's attempt at humor. "Are you going to tell him? Because I don't think this is something you can keep a secret while living in the same small town as him."

"Don't worry, Haley. I'm going to tell him. I just need time to register it all. I just found out about this myself."

"Hey, no judgment here. I didn't tell Nathan I was pregnant for weeks. And we were married."

"That's right! You let the whole school think I was pregnant!" Brooke huffed.

Haley, once again ignoring Brooke, gave Peyton a warm smile. "Listen Peyton, if you need anything, anything at all… Just let me know, okay? I don't ever want you to feel like you're going through this alone."

Peyton grabbed Haley's hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Thank you, Haley. That means a lot to me."

"But I'm still the Godmother, right?"

-------

It was amazing what a couple slices of good pizza and a cold beer could do. Lucas felt better he had in weeks. He made himself comfortable on the couch that had served as his bed the night before. He was thoroughly enjoying watching Jamie kick Nathan's ass at videogames.

He checked his watch. Lindsey was probably in New York by now. Which meant… he had kept his promise to himself. Lindsey was gone and he was now free to call Peyton.

He quietly got off the couch and made his way into the kitchen. He took out his cell phone and took a deep breath. Well, here went nothing. He brought the cell phone to his ear and waited with bated breath, hoping that Peyton would pick up the phone.

She did.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Peyton."

"Lucas." It was amazing how many different emotions she could project in one word.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing better. I, uh, heard about Lindsey. How are you doing?"

She was worried about him and he felt his heart jump at that. "I'm doing better than she is."

It was a weak excuse for a joke and Peyton didn't find it remotely funny.

"Yeah, I'm fully aware of how she's feeling."

Ouch. "I didn't mean it like that."

Peyton sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

After all the things he had done to hurt her, she's was the one apologizing to him. "It's okay, Peyt. I deserved it."

"Yeah, you did."

He chuckled. "So, about last night…"

"Luke…" She sounded weary. "I know you have things you want to say to me, but I don't think this is right time."

"When will it be the right time, then?"

"I don't know. I'll let you know, okay?"

"Okay. Anyway, I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Me too. Guess I'll talk to you later, then."

"Yeah." Luke closed his eyes. "Oh, and Peyt? I love you."

"You have got to stop saying that, Lucas!"

"Why? It's true and I don't want you to forget it."

Peyton sighed. "I love you, too."

Peyton hung up the phone to see her two best friends watching her intently. "What?"

"He told you he loved you, again?" Brooke already knew the answer to that question, but wanted to hear it from Peyton.

"Yeah, it's kinda becoming his catchphrase with me."

"You told him you loved him, too," Haley reminded her blond friend, quietly.

"I know. I just couldn't not say it, you know?"

Brooke and Haley exchanged a look. Brooke, always being brutally honest with Peyton, spoke up. "He's single now, you know."

Peyton shrugged. "So?"

"Peyton, he's broke up with Lindsey for you." Haley's tone was softer. "I told you that."

The blonde shook her head. "I don't want to talk about this. Not with him and not with either of you, okay? I'm kind of feeling a little overwhelmed right now with the whole being pregnant, unemployed, and homeless. And I don't need anything else to think about at the moment."

The two brunettes nodded and each of them reached out over the table and squeezed one of their pregnant friend's hands.

"You're right," Brooke agreed. "It seems like a lot of stuff. So, we're gonna take this one step at a time. Let's start with the homeless thing. First thing tomorrow morning, you and I are going to go house hunting."

Peyton smiled gratefully at Brooke for the change in subject. She wasn't ready to deal with Lucas like that. Not yet.

"And tomorrow night, you two are coming over for nice home-cooked meal." Haley looked straight at Peyton. "We got to fatten you up, girlie."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

-------

The next night, Haley was standing in front of the stove, listening to Brooke relate the story of how she came to own a house in Tree Hill.

"So, it was beautiful and big and right on the water-" Brooke was saying when Peyton looked up from the sketch she was doing for Jamie.

"The only problem was that it wasn't for sale," the blonde interrupted.

"Details." Brooke smiled. "Everything is for sale, you just have to meet the price."

Haley laughed. "What did you do, Brooke?"

"I just gave the woman a very generous offer. She was so happy that she even left us the pie that she was baking."

Haley pointed at the pie that the two girls had brought over. "That one? Oh thank God, I thought one of you had made it."

"Hey!" Peyton gave her a mock-hurt look.

"Seriously, I thought was going to have to choke down a salty apple pie." Haley was teasing her.

"That was one time! And it was cookies," Peyton mumbled.

Brooke and Haley smiled at her and Peyton just rolled her eyes. Her mind immediately went to that memory. Lucas and her had been so happy back then. And so much in love. It made her a little sad, but it was also nice remembering such a happy memory.

Brooke, not missing the smile on Peyton's face, moved close to Haley. Keeping her voice low so Peyton wouldn't hear, Brooke asked, "Did you talk to Lucas today?"

Haley shook her head and watched as Jamie ran into the kitchen pulling Peyton out into the living room with him. "No, his cell phone was off all day. And Nathan said that he didn't see him at the Rivercourt today, either."

Brooke sighed. "The entire day, I was convinced that we were going to run into Lucas. After all, this is Tree Hill. That kind of shit happens all the fucking time here."

"Brooke! Language!"

"Sorry, Tutor Mom." Brooke leaned against the counter. "I forgot."

"But you do bring up a good point," Haley said. "Where was Lucas all day?"

-------

Lucas heard his stomach growl. That interrupted his train of thought and he looked around. His eyes went to the clock in the dark room and he was surprised to see how late it was. Lucas had been so engrossed in his writing that he hadn't noticed that the time flew by. He couldn't believe that he had spent the entire day writing.

He had woken up this morning with the urge to put his thoughts on paper, something that hadn't happened in a long time. The past few years, except for the screenplay, writing seemed like a chore for him. But not today. Today, the words came easily and naturally to him, like they hadn't since he was writing his first book. The words in his head were almost too fast for his fingers to keep up with. Before he knew it, he had pages upon pages of new material written.

Lucas stood up and stretched. He was sore from sitting at his computer all day, but he barely noticed his aching muscles. His computer screen was full of his words. He wondered whether or not to call Lindsey with the news.

She was his editor, after all. Their break-up yesterday complicated things, sure, but that was no reason for her not to do her job. Still, maybe it was prudent to give her at least a week before she had to deal with him. Just for safety's sake.

His stomach growled again, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything all day. He was starving and everything else was just going to have to wait until he had some good food in his stomach. And he knew just where to get some.

------

"Daddy, look what Peyton drew for me!" Jamie showed Nathan the quick sketch that Peyton had done.

"It looks awesome, buddy."

"I know! I'm gonna hang it on my wall!"

"Hey! Did you thank Peyton for drawing that for you?"

Peyton smiled as she saw her ex-boyfriend be all paternal. She couldn't believe that the man in front of her was the same guy who was such a dick in back when they had been dating.

"Oh! Thank you!" Jamie ran over to her and gave her a huge hug.

"No problem, little guy."

Jamie ran off upstairs. Probably towards his room to put up her masterpiece.

"So, I hear you're going to be having one of those yourself pretty soon." Nathan had said it pretty nonchalantly but Peyton could tell that he was nervous bringing up the subject.

"Haley spilled the beans, huh?"

"Yeah, but did you really expect her not to tell me?"

"No," Peyton answered honestly. "So, what do you think?"

"Not my place, Sawyer."

"Nate…" It was a plea.

Nathan sighed. "Truthfully? I'm proud of you. I really am. But I'm also scared for you. Raising a kid isn't easy, you know? Even with _two_ parents."

Peyton nodded. "I know."

"But no matter what, you're not alone, Sawyer. You got a family here and we are more than willing to help you out in any way that you need."

"Still playing the martyr, huh?"

Nathan shook his head and gave Peyton a firm hug. "No. I'm just taking care of my friend and my little nephew…or niece."

Peyton had to fight back the tears. Even if things got really bad between her and Lucas, she knew that at least Nathan would step into the father figure role for her child. Just knowing that made her feel less worried.

"DADDY!" Jamie's voice came from upstairs. "HELP!"

Peyton broke away from Nathan sniffling. "Go, your son needs you."

Nathan nodded and started running up the stairs. As soon as he disappeared from view, Peyton heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!"

Peyton walked towards the door and opened it. Her heart stopped when she saw who the visitor was. It was the last person she had expected it to be and the only person that it could have been.:

Lucas Scott.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Happy One Tree Hill Day! Woot!! Anyway... Yay for reviews! Thank you for all of them and please keep them coming! Also, special thanks to lizzy1234 for inspiring a large part of this chapter. It's kind of a long chapter, because I kind of felt that a break would sort of damage the flow I was going for. And besides, everyone's been so patient that I had to reward it. So hopefully this update will be enough to keep you entertained until OTH airs tonight. Ladies and Gentlemen... Chapter 10.**

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Nathan walked down the steps, laughing to himself. He was going to call out to Peyton when he saw her standing in the open doorway, in front of Lucas. He quietly made his way into the kitchen. Haley looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Lucas is here."

"What?" Brooke jumped off the counter and looked at Nathan. "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know." Nathan shrugged. "But he's on our doorstep with Peyton standing in the doorway."

"Oh my God, I have to go out there!"

Nathan stopped Brooke before she could leave the kitchen. "No." He was firm. "Give them a minute."

-------

Peyton realized that they had been standing there, staring at each other in silence for a few minutes. She blushed.

"Hi," she said shyly.

Lucas swallowed hard. "Hi."

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here."

Lucas was, but he wasn't going to press her on it. "It's dinnertime, so I'm guessing you're here for dinner."

Peyton laughed. "Yeah, Brooke and I flew all the way to Tree Hill to have Haley's pot roast."

"Brooke's here, too?"

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen with Haley." Peyton chuckled, obviously embarrassed. "Um, come in."

She stepped aside and Lucas came into the house. "Thanks."

They stood looking at each other for a minute before Lucas cleared his throat. "So, it good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too." To her surprise, she realized that she was being honest. In spite of the awkwardness, she was happy to see him.

Just then, Brooke's voice broke the silence. "I don't care, Nate."

She moved into view and saw the two blondes standing a few feet from each other. Brooke took a deep breath and smile widely.

"Lucas!" Brooke walked over to Lucas and gave him a warm hug.

Peyton saw Lucas hug Brooke back and the blonde wished that it was that easy for her to be able to greet him like that.

"Hey there, pretty girl. You look great." Lucas broke away from the brunette to take her in. She did look good.

"Don't I always?" Brooke grinned. "I wish I could say the same for you. You're looking a little worn around the edges."

Peyton realized that Brooke was right. Lucas looked tired and worn out.

He shrugged. "It's been a rough couple of days" Lucas looked over at Peyton. "For all of us."

"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie had emerged from upstairs and was now running towards his favorite uncle.

"J. Luke! What's up?"

"Peyton made me a really cool picture! Wanna see? It's up in my room!"

Lucas nodded. "Of course I would. I've always been a big fan of her work."

Peyton blushed and watched Jamie lead Lucas upstairs. When they were gone, Brooke wrapped her arm around her friend's waist.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." At Brooke's disbelieving look, she said, "Really. I am. I'm not going to fall apart just because we're in the same room together."

"I'm more worried about you falling into bed together after what you told me about your last encounter. I'm not sure that's the way Haley wants Jamie to learn about the birds and the bees."

"You're perverse." Peyton shook her head. "Anyway, that's not going to happen either. We're all just going to have a nice dinner together. That's all."

"If you say so, P. Sawyer." Brooke grabbed her arm. "Well, come on. I promised Haley that we would set the table."

-------

Lucas walked downstairs and spied his ex-girlfriends setting the table. As much as he wanted to talk to Peyton, this was not how he wanted to do it. Instead, he went into the kitchen where he knew his brother and his best friend were hiding.

"So…" Lucas began. "Peyton's in town."

Haley turned, looking sheepish. "Really? I didn't know."

He glared at her. "Why didn't you tell me, Hales?"

She had expected him to be mad at her. "Because it wasn't my place, Luke. Besides, I knew you were going to find out eventually. I just didn't think it was going to be like this."

Nathan put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Lucas bit his lip. "How long are they going to be in town for?"

Nathan and Haley exchanged a look. Surely they could answer that question, right? Haley cleared her throat. "Um, actually. They're going to be living here now. Brooke bought a house in town today."

Lucas was barely listening. Peyton was back in town. More than that, she was back for good. He felt his heart almost beating out of his chest. This was going to make getting her back a hell of a lot easier than he had previously anticipated.

"Lucas," Nathan called his name, breaking him out of his reverie. "Just promise us that you'll hold off on any big romantic gestures. She needs some time…

"…. to settle in and all that," Haley finished the sentence. "It's not like you're on a deadline or anything."

They were right. He was going to give Peyton some time and space. After all, now that she was in town, they were bound to run into each other anyway.

-------

Once the table was set and the food was done, everyone sat at the dinner table to enjoy the feast that Haley had prepared. Well, mostly.

"Hey, Aunt Brooke! I made the macaroni and cheese!" Jamie grinned at his godmother.

"Really? That's funny because that's the most yummy-looking food on the whole table." Brooke met his smile with one of her own.

Haley loved watching her friend interact with her son. "Jamie's such a better cook that me. I think I'm going to let him make all the meals from now on."

Jamie's eyes went huge. "Uh, Momma? Please don't do that. I only knows how to make macaroni and cheese and that's not a very good breakfast."

"Ah, don't worry, bud. You're mother is just teasing you because no one's complimented her on what she's made." Nathan gave his son a reassuring nod.

Peyton swallowed the mouthful of pot roast she had in her mouth. "Oh my God, Haley. This is incredible. It's soooo good."

Haley watched as Peyton shoveled another forkful into her mouth. "Well, I can see that you're enjoying it. Thanks, girlie."

Lucas looked over to see Peyton devouring everything on her plate. Peyton had never reached the point of anorexia, but she had always been a very light eater. Apparently, living in LA had given her a voracious appetite.

"Don't you like it, Uncle Lucas? You haven't eaten much."

Watching Peyton eat had distracted him from his own hunger. Lucas felt his cheeks burn and lowered his gaze to his plate and began eating.

"This is delicious, Hales." And it was. He didn't know if it was because he was so hungry or what, but this was the best pot roast he had ever had.

Haley blushed. "Thanks. Now stop with the compliments and eat."

Peyton obliged, finishing her plate quickly. As she got herself a second helping of everything, she felt eyes on her. "What? I'm hungry."

Brooke watched as the blond female keep putting food on her plate. "While it's good to see you eat, P. Sawyer, I just hope that all that food is going to stay in your stomach."

Peyton glared at Brooke, who put her hand over her mouth. She hadn't realized what she had said until after she had said it. Four pair of eyes shot immediately to Lucas, who was still eating, oblivious to the implications of Brooke's statement.

Haley changed the subject. "Where were you all day, Luke?"

Lucas swallowed. "Home." A pause for effect. "Writing."

The young mother rolled her eyes. "I thought you were done writing that screenplay."

"I am."

Haley 's jaw drop. "Do you mean…?"

"Yep. All new stuff." Lucas smiled between bites. "And it's good, if I say so myself."

"So your writer's block?"

"Gone," he replied happily. "J. Luke, this is easily the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had."

Peyton watched Jamie flash his uncle a cheesy smile. She had known about his writer's block, he had told her about it in the elevator. She remembered how she had no idea how to reply to him. And it wasn't because she didn't know how it felt. She, as an artist, knew the frustration with wanting to put something down on paper (or canvas) and not being able to. It was a horrible feeling and she was glad that he had gotten over whatever was causing him not to write. She wanted to say something to show that she understood, but she had no idea what would have been an appropriate response in that situation. Instead, she resigned herself to continue eating.

"So, when do I get to read this new masterpiece of yours?" Haley tilted her head at him, questioningly.

"When it's done."

"When it's done?" Haley repeated. "Come on, Luke. Doesn't being your best friend come with any benefits?"

"Nope."

"See if I invite you over for dinner again," she grumbled.

"Like it would matter," Nathan pointed out. "I'm pretty sure no one invited him tonight and yet, here he is."

"Honestly," Brooke chimed in. "Peyton and I were looking forward to a nice dinner with my godson and his parents and Broody butts in and then tries to make himself the center of attention."

"Jealous?" Lucas wriggled his eyebrows at Brooke.

"Of you?" The designer laughed. "Why? I'm prettier, funnier, and more successful than you."

"True. But I'm Jamie's favorite godparent."

Jamie's eyes widened again and was trying to think of something to say when Brooke winked at him. "Only cause you've been hogging him for all these years. Now that I'm back, I'm sorry to say that your days as the favorite are numbered."

While all this was going on, Peyton kept eating. She had never been so hungry in her life. It was like a black hole had manifested itself in her stomach and all the food she was consuming was being sucked into the nothingness of it. When her plate was clean, she started piling more food on her plate.

Nathan chuckled at that. "Apparently Sawyer heard that there was a massive food shortage and is stockpiling it."

Peyton blushed and stopped scooping food onto her plate. "I'm sorry."

Haley shook her head. "Don't you dare be sorry. Eat all you want. I told you I was making it my job to see you put on some weight."

"You really do look too skinny," Lucas said in a quiet voice. He knew that she would probably bite his head off for the comment, but he didn't care. It looked like she had lost some weight in the six weeks since he'd seen her.

Brooke, perhaps fearing Peyton's response as well, quickly said, "Do you know that I have a weekly fight with my editors over the weight of the models?"

Both Peyton and Lucas tuned out of the conversation. Blue eyes met green and they look at each other for a moment. He was worried that she was angry at his comment about her weight, but she gave him a smile. Then they both went back to eating.

Even so, Lucas kept sneaking glances across the table at Peyton. She looked tired, and that worried him. But she also looked content. It was a quiet joy, one that radiated off her. Lucas yearned to feel that way himself. And the only way to feel that way, he thought, was to be with Peyton again. He looked up to see her sucking the gravy off her fork and felt his arousal hit him like a train. Lucas felt the heat rising in his cheeks and tried to will his trousers to stop shrinking.

"Why are you all red, Uncle Luke?" Jamie, bored with Brooke's talk of her business, had seen his uncle flush with color.

Suddenly all eyes were on him and the red deepened. "Uh, um, I…" Lucas stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"He was just embarrassed that Brooke's smarter than him now," Peyton said, saving him from further humiliation. Lucas gave her a grateful smile and she shrugged at him.

"Oh." Jamie nodded.

"Don't listen to them, Jamie," Brooke told her godson. "I've always been the smartest one in the group."

"Really?" His eyes went as big as saucers. "How come birds can fly?"

Brooke turned to Nathan and Haley for help. The young parents, however, just shrugged. She had gotten herself into this mess, she was going to get herself out.

The young designer lowered her face until it was inches from her godson's. "I'll make you a deal. You let this question go, and I'll get you an ice cream the next time you and I are alone together."

Jamie lowered his voice to meet Brooke's whispered one. "It's a deal."

Haley looked across the table at the two of them whispering conspiratorially. "Brooke, what on Earth are you telling my son?"

Brooke shrugged. "Ah, the secrets of the universe are only bestowed upon those worthy enough. And sorry, Tutor Mom, you don't make the cut."

Jamie smiled. "But don't worry, Momma, I still love you!"

Nathan took Haley's hand and kissed it. "I still love you, too."

"I love you, too, Haley!" Peyton piped up from beside her, squeezing her other hand. "And I _really_ love your pot roast."

"Me too," Lucas said. "I meant about the pot roast. I'm only mildly fond of you, Hales."

Haley was beet red by this point. "All right, enough. You guys keep it up and I won't ever cook again,"

"Momma? Are you teasing again?"

"Yes, Jimmy-Jam, I'm teasing again."

"Good, 'cause I need food. I'm a growing boy. Aunt Brooke says I'm gonna be taller than Daddy. And that's a lot of food!"

Everyone laughed. Peyton was surprised at how easily she and Brooke had fallen back into the easy rhythm of being with their friends. It was almost as if they had never left. But one look at Lucas was enough to remind her that they had, indeed, left.

The conversation outlasted the food and only the oven timer got Haley to stand up. She had put the apple pie in the oven to warm up.

Haley came in, pie in hand. Lucas raised an eyebrow, that pie looked homemade. "You made pie? Don't you usually just buy it at the store."

Haley bit her lip to keep from smiling. "I didn't make it. Peyton and Brooke brought it over."

Lucas paled. "Oh! That's great. Um, Hales? Give me a small piece, okay? I'm not really in the mood for apple pie."

"Ass." Brooke tried to keep a straight face long enough to give him a dirty look. "Are you worried that it might not be good because one of us made it?"

"No, of course not." Lucas felt like a deer in headlights. "I mean, Peyton's cookies were the best I ever had."

Peyton blushed heavily, having been reminded of why they were his favorite. "We didn't make it. The lady who used to own the house that Brooke bought did."

"Oh. I guess I'm in the mood for apple pie, after all." Lucas tried to duck as Brooke threw her napkin at him.

"Hey! No fighting at the table!" Haley roared, very much in "Mom" mode.

"Yeah, you're not setting a good exsample!" Jamie crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look as much as his mom as possible.

Haley giggled. "It's 'example,' honey, not 'exsample.'" She gave her son a big smile.

"Yeah! What Momma said!"

Everyone laughed and Brooke and Lucas apologized for not being good role models. The pie ended up being pretty good and soon nothing was left on the pie plate but crumbs.

Brooke groaned. "Ugh. I think I ate too much."

"Me too," Haley said, patting her full stomach.

Everyone turned to look at Peyton, expecting her to chime in with how she ate too much. She didn't. Instead she stood up and started clearing the table.

"Hey, sit down, Sawyer!" Nathan commanded, sitting up in his chair.

"After all, you guys did for me tonight, it's the least I can do." Peyton continued carrying plates into the kitchen.

"It was our pleasure," Haley said loud enough so Peyton could hear her in the other room. "Besides, you're our guest. AND I don't want you to overdo it, okay?"

Lucas stood up as Peyton came back to grab more stuff. "Listen, you passed out a couple of days ago. Just take it easy for a while, please?" Lucas looked deep into her eyes. "You really had us worried and we just want what's best for you."

Peyton nodded and sat down. "Okay, you win. I'm sitting here, being a lump."

Haley smiled. "Good. We'll let Brooke and Lucas clear the table."

Brooke gasped. "Hey! I'm a guest, too."

Lucas laughed and helped Brooke out of her chair. "Come on, pretty girl. You don't want to make Haley mad. She might put you on time out."

When the blond boy was out of earshot, Haley leaned in close to Peyton. "How's the stomach?"

Haley's concern for her was enough to make Peyton smile. "It's okay. I don't think I'm going to have any problems tonight. Well, as long as you don't make coffee or anything."

"No coffee. I promise." Haley stayed quiet as Lucas grabbed some more plates. When he was gone, "I'm sorry about Lucas being here."

"Don't worry about it. It was fine." Peyton shook her head. "Scratch that, it was nice. It felt like old times. This really was the best way."

"He couldn't keep his eyes off you the whole night."

"Maybe it was because I was eating my weight in food." Peyton felt embarrassed. "I can't believe I ate so much. I just couldn't help it."

"What can I say, your baby has good taste in food."

The two girls laughed.

-------

After the table had been cleared, Jamie had been tucked in. The five of them sat around the living room and just talked. It was very reminiscent of old times. Well, mostly. There was an unspoken agreement to steer clear of topics concerning Peyton and Lucas as a couple. After a while, Brooke yawned.

Peyton looked at her best friend. "You tired, B. Davis?"

"Yes," Brooke replied. "Don't forget how early we got up to go house hunting. And it doesn't help that you won't let me have my coffee."

Peyton stood up. "Well, I guess that's it, then. I have to go take Brooke home before she starts getting cranky."

"Shut up, Mood Swings Barbie."

"Too late," Peyton said.

Brooke and Peyton embraced their hosts and then turned to Lucas. Brooke stepped in and gave Lucas a quick hug.

"Don't be a stranger, 'kay?" Her raspy voice was deeper than usual. She must have really been tired.

Peyton took a deep breath and to everyone's surprise, she wrapped her arms around Lucas. He hugged her tight to him, enjoying the feel of her so close to him again. They both had to admit to themselves how right it felt to be in the other's arms. Lucas forced himself to part from her when he felt her pull away.

"I'll be seeing you, Luke."

"I'll be seeing you, Peyt."

After a beat, the blond girl took her best friend by the arm and they left.

Lucas looked at his brother and his sister-in-law. "You saw that, right? I didn't imagine it."

Nathan sighed. "Saw what? A hug?"

"That's not what it was and you know it." Lucas was excited.

"No, Luke." Haley's tone was serious. "That's all it was. A hug between _friends_."

Lucas groaned. They were blind if they hadn't seen it. Their hug was a sign that she was ready for him to woo her back.

"Listen," Nathan started, firmly. "Peyton's had a rough couple of days and you need to back off. Please, Luke, for her sake, just give her some time."

"Fine," he relented. He would give her some time. After all, he needed to get his head straight on what he was going to do to win her back. "You know what? I think I'm going to take off, too."

Nathan and Haley exchanged a glance. They hoped that Lucas wasn't going to do anything. He had always been a stubborn one.

--------

It was amazing. Peyton's hug with Lucas had reenergized Brooke. She had spent the entire car ride back to their new home buzzing about it. Peyton was again grateful for her best friend's ability to carry a conversation without any input from her. The blonde's mind was a mess and she knew that she wouldn't have any of the answers to the questions Brooke would fire off at her.

When they reached their new home, Brooke climbed out of the car. She noticed her best friend still sitting in the driver's seat.

"P. Sawyer, you okay?"

"I don't know," Peyton answered. She gave her friend a shrug. Still, she didn't make any move to get out of the car.

"Are you coming in?"

Peyton shook her head. She couldn't fail to notice Brooke's worried expression. "I'm fine. I'm just going to go for a drive, okay?"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. Thank you, though. For everything. You're the greatest best friend ever, Brooke Davis."

"I know." But Brooke was still worried. "Just be careful, okay? And don't be running any red lights or anything."

Peyton smiled reassuringly. "I'll be careful, I promise. Now go to sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

Brooke watched her friend drive off. If Peyton thought for one second that Brooke was going to get a wink of sleep until she got her scrawny butt home, she was crazy.

----------

Lucas walked into his house. It seemed a little emptier now with Lindsey gone. But it also felt more like his home again. When he was growing up, his room had been his sole sanctuary. His mom's café, Keith's garage, and the Rivercourt were more public. But in his room, he was alone. He didn't have to put on an act or be mindful of what he said. He could be himself.

Later, when he was with Peyton, she became his sanctuary. He didn't have to hide himself when she was around. She never judged him or thought any less of him. She just accepted everything and she still loved him.

But they had broken up and she stopped being that for him. He still had that room in Tree Hill. He would always be grateful to his mother for giving him the house when she went on her global journey with his sister. He needed his room more than ever then.

And then he started dating Lindsey and she sort of moved in with him part-time. Suddenly, he found himself without a place of his own. He had been tough on him. He hadn't realized how tough until now, when he had his room to himself.

He flopped back on his bed. He smiled to himself as he let his mind wander back to the hug he shared with Peyton. She had definitely been skinnier since he had seen her last. But, if she kept eating like she did at Haley's, she wasn't going to stay so skinny for long.

How was it that Peyton managed to get more beautiful by the second. Her smile, which he had seen plenty of that night, warmed his heart in a way he knew nothing else could. Every time their eyes met, surely she had felt the electricity between them, just like he had.

And she was back home. His beautiful, perfect Peyton was back where she belonged. Well, almost. But his arms would have to wait. He knew she had to settle in. And as far as he knew, she hadn't just transferred from LA. She probably needed a job. He wondered if he could hire her as a new bartender for Tric. He rolled his eyes at his own lameness. That would be beneath her. She needed something better. She deserved it.

A deep sigh escaped his lips and he wondered if Peyton was lying in bed thinking about him. A knock on his door forced him to get up.

He opened his door to find Peyton standing there.

"Peyton!" He hated how high his voice was when he said her name.

"Hi," she said, wondering why she was there. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything."

"No! I mean, you're not. Would you like to come in?"

Peyton nodded and he stepped aside, letting her into his bedroom. They both sat on his bed, quietly. Lucas didn't know what to say. He was afraid that if he said the wrong thing, she would leave and he didn't want that. So, he kept his mouth shut.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here."

Lucas laughed and it wasn't until Peyton realized that she had said the exact same thing to him only hours earlier, that she joined in.

"No, I wasn't. I was merely enjoying having you here, Peyt."

Peyton knew immediately that he was being honest. "I told you that I didn't want to deal with… you know, _us_… until I was ready."

Lucas nodded, waiting hopefully for her to continue.

"And I'm not ready yet. And I won't be until we talk about something else."

"About what?"

Peyton sighed. Here goes nothing. "I'm pregnant."

Lucas blinked. That was a major bombshell, all right. But it did explain a lot. No wonder she wasn't ready to discuss the possibility of there being a "them" again. She had another life to worry about. "I understand. And I'm not going to pressure you or anything. But this doesn't change the way I feel about you, Peyt. I still love you."

Peyton looked at him, confused at his reaction. Then it hit her. He didn't realize that he was the father. God, Lucas could be so obtuse sometimes.

"Luke, you don't understand-"

He cut her off. "I get it. Really. But I want to be here for you. For you and your baby."

"_**OUR**_ baby, Luke. Yours and mine." Peyton watched Lucas as his face grew slack. "You're the father."

"Oh."

What other response did she expect. She stood up. "Well, you needed to know and now you do. So, I'm gonna go now."

She walked towards the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned to look at him.

He hadn't moved an inch. She felt her annoyance melt away. Peyton knew she had no right to be irritated with him. She had just dropped a major bombshell on him. He needed time to process just like she had. He had stepped up when he thought somebody else was the father of her baby. She knew she didn't need to worry.

"Good night, Lucas." Peyton opened the door and stepped outside. She looked at him one final time. "I love you, too."

The door closed and she was gone. And he was all alone in his sanctuary.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Once more I have to start by giving thanks for all the reviews, you guys. They really do mean a lot to me. It really makes writing that much easier knowing that there are people out there enjoying my work. And also thanks for all those who have put my story as one of their faves. I'm glad you like it so much. Anyway not much to say about this chapter, except to say that it does have Lucas recoving from his shock. I'm a little on the fence on where to go next so bear with me okay?**

**____________________**

The next morning, Brooke knocked on Peyton's door. The brunette had heard her coming and had expected her friend to tell her all about her "ride."

Peyton opened the door, rubbing at her eyes. "Hey."

"Come on, get dressed," Brooke said, pushing Peyton back into her room. "We're going out to breakfast. I'm starving and I don't want to burn the house down before owning it for a full day."

Peyton knew better than to argue with Brooke. Besides, she was a little hungry herself. "All right, just give me a second."

A second turned into minutes and Brooke started pacing outside her door. "If you're not out here in sixty seconds, I'm going in there and you're going in whatever state of dress you're in."

Peyton opened the door, fully dressed. "Ah, you wouldn't have dared."

"Are you kidding me? I probably would have done in fifteen."

The two girls laughed as they made their way to Brooke's car. "So, how was your drive last night?"

"Good."

Brooke gave Peyton a look. "What happened?"

Peyton needed to find some friends that didn't know her so well. "I drove for a bit and before I knew it, I was parked in front of his house."

"Lucas?"

Peyton nodded.

"What did you do?"

"I talked to him." Peyton saw Brooke stiffen up beside her. "I told him about the baby."

"What did he say?"

"Oh."

Brooke turned to look at Peyton. "Tell me that you are kidding."

The blonde shook her head. "No. That's what he said."

"He's such an idiot."

Peyton smiled. "Don't be too hard on him. It was some pretty big news that I dumped on him out of the blue. And besides, he didn't realize that he's was the father at first."

"What do you mean?"

"When I told him I was pregnant, he told me that it didn't change how he felt about me. That he wanted to be there for both of us. Me and the baby."

Brooke whistled. "Way to go, Broody. Too bad he couldn't have said something like that after he realized he was talking about his own kid, huh?"

"I guess." Peyton leaned back in her seat. "I'm just glad I told him."

"Are you worried at all about what going to happen next?"

"Maybe a little."

"Why? You know he loves you. He was willing to be there for a stranger's kid," Brooke pointed out. "He's going to be there for you."

"I know. I'm not worried about _that_."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about what he's going to do when the shock wears off."

"At least you know it's going to be romantic."

Peyton smiled a little. "Maybe."

-------

Haley opened the door to find her best friend standing on her stoop. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. She pulled him into the house.

"Are you okay?" The concern in her voice made it a little hoarse.

"Peyton's pregnant. With my baby," he said. Whatever he was feeling, she wasn't able to distinguish it from his tone.

"She told you that? When?"

"Last night. She came by and she told me." Lucas clenched his fists. "She told me and I completely fucked up."

"Language, Luke," she scolded softly. "Anyway, how did you mess up?"

"Do you know what I said when she told me? Oh."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Is that your default response?"

Lucas gave her a look. "I know, okay? I just was overwhelmed and it was so much to take and it just slipped out."

"Luke, if there's anyone who understands about feeling overwhelmed, it's Peyton." Haley squeezed his hand. "Go talk to her. Tell her how you feel. I bet you'll find that she'll be pretty understanding."

"Weren't you the one telling me to give her space?"

"I was telling you to give her time to adjust before you started trying to win her back. _This_ is a completely different situation."

Lucas nodded. "I guess you're right."

"So, now that you've thought about it… where's your head at concerning Peyton and the baby?" Haley had to make sure that she didn't just send her best friend on a mission to hurt her pregnant friend.

He looked at her and his face dissolved into a smile. "I'm happy, Hales. Nervous and freaked out and worried, but completely ecstatic."

"Good. I'm sure Peyton would love to hear that."

Suddenly Lucas narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Wait a minute. You knew." His voice was accusatory.

Haley looked surprised. "What?"

"You knew that she's was pregnant with my baby, didn't you?"

"Why would you think that?"

Lucas gave her a look. "Lots of reasons. But mainly because you weren't surprised at the news. You were surprised that she told me."

Haley nodded. "Fine, yes. I knew. But you can't be angry at her, Lucas. She needed friends and-"

"I'm not mad at her. I'm a little annoyed at being the last one to know, but at least she didn't purposely hide it from me like you did with Nathan."

"Hey! That's unnecessary."

Luke nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"I'm only forgiving you because you've had quite a shock, Lucas Scott." Haley smiled. "You're going to be a dad!"

"I know! I can't wrap my head around it sometimes and it all feels surreal, but then I think about it… And I know how perfect this is." Lucas sighed. "Don't you see? This is proof that we're meant to be together."

"Whoa, back up there. You have to think about what's right for Peyton and the baby, now," she said. Haley wondered why Lucas always had to make everything more complicated that they needed to be. For everyone. "You need to be there for her and that's it. She doesn't need anything else to think about right now."

Lucas nodded, even though he was fully intending to ignore that certain piece of advice. Peyton and he were having a child together. It was only right that they be together, too. And he was going to make sure that was how it was going to be.

-------

Brooke watched as her friend moved the food on her plate around with her fork. "Where's the girl that nearly ate Nathan and Haley out of house and home last night?"

Peyton shrugged. She had been hungry when she had ordered, but felt the nauseous the second the food was placed in front of her. "I don't know."

Brooke was all concerned. "What would you like? Anything, just name it."

Her friend gave her a grateful look. "I'm just not hungry right now, Brooke. Although, some saltines crackers might be nice."

Brooke called over a waiter and demanded he bring a plate covered in saltine crackers. The waiter nodded vigorously and scampered off to do her bidding. Peyton laughed as Brooke turned to her, all serious-like.

"Okay, your crackers are on their way. Now tell me. What's on your mind, P. Sawyer?"

"Lots of things," she replied honestly.

"Like what?"

"Like how is Lucas going to react when it all sinks in. Like how's it going to be for the next thirty-two weeks. Like what am I going to do for a job… I can go on and on."

"Well, I don't know about the first two, but I can help you out with the last." Brooke took a small bite of her breakfast. "You know how you were telling me about all that was wrong with your last job?"

"Yeah…?"

"And how if it had been YOUR label you would do it right?"

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

"Because, Best Friend, I am helping you start your own label! Do you hear me? I want to invest in your label!" Brooke's dimples were as deep as canyons.

Peyton blinked. "Jesus, Brooke, that's really generous of you. Way, way too generous, actually. And completely crazy! Why would you want to throw your money away like that?"

"A- I think you would be great and I believe in you. B- Have you seen the stock market lately? This is actually the safest bet for an investment."

"You're serious. You're going to give me money to start my own label. Brooke, I can't let you do this. It's too much."

Brooke shook her head. "I'm rich, Peyton. Obscenely so. I have loads of money that I don't know what to do with. And I think you could do wonders. I really do. So, please, do me a favor and at least think about it?

"I'll think about it, I promise." Peyton hugged Brooke hard to her. "I don't deserve you, Brooke Davis. I love you."

"I love you, too. Besides, I had to do something to stay in the running after Haley's apparently amazing pot roast last night."

"In the running for what?"

"Godmother."

Peyton laughed and just held on tighter. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Thank God you never have to find out."

-----

Lucas left Haley's house with every intention of finding Peyton. That's when he realized that he had no idea where Peyton was. He called the one person he knew that could tell him without a doubt where the blonde was. Brooke Davis.

"Oh." That's how the brunette answered the phone.

"So she told you."

"Yeah, smooth."

"Well, in my defense, Peyton tends to just springs things on me with no build-up."

"Whatever you say, Broody. Anyway, what's up?"

"Do you know where she is?"

"Do I know where Peyton is?" Brooke repeated the question so Peyton could answer it for her. Peyton nodded. "Actually, I do."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that she gave you permission to disclose that information to me." Lucas knew immediately that wherever Brooke was, there was Peyton. "Now, did she give you permission to tell me where she is?"

"Oh no, she and I are going shopping today and I will not have you ruining with some drama nonsense. If you want to see her you're just going to have to wait until tonight."

"Fine. Just do me a favor and tell Peyton that I'm sorry for what I said and that… Well, I can tell her the rest when I see her in person."

Brooke hung up the phone. "He says he's sorry for being a jackass."

Peyton shrugged. "I'm used to it."

-----

That night after dinner with Brooke, Peyton had decided to take a walk along the river. She used to love doing that and she hadn't gotten a chance to do it yet since she had been back. Her mind was a mess of thoughts. Peyton couldn't believe that she was actually really considering taking Brooke up on her offer. Starting a record label was such a huge step, and sure she had made some connections when she was in LA, but still. All the cards were stacked against her. The chances of her label making were… well, about the same as Brooke's fashion line becoming as big as it is. Or Lucas's book being on the New York Bestseller List. Or Nathan actually making it in to the NBA.

Okay, so those were not good examples. Everyone in their little group had succeeded so far. That just meant that someone had to fail. And that someone was obviously her. Granted, Peyton thought, she did fail miserably in LA. So, maybe it was her turn to succeed?

Peyton shook her head. Brooke's excitement was infectious. Every time Peyton allowed herself to think (even for a second) about actually doing it, she got all giggly. But was now really the time? She was pregnant. She should be focusing on that and not starting a label. On the other hand, what else was she going to do for income?

She sighed. She wasn't going to make the decision tonight, so she might as well put it out of her head. It was doing her no good to dwell on it when there was no possible resolution to be had right then. Her hands went to her stomach. Where her baby was. She couldn't help but smile every time she thought about that. She wondered if it was a boy or a girl. She wondered if the baby would have straight or curly hair. Wondered if the baby would have her green eyes or those intense blue eyes that his (or her) father had.

Lucas. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of him and she wondered if there was a way she could make it stop doing that. She was glad she told him. It had been an albatross around her neck ever since she found out she was pregnant with his child. All thing considered, the confession went pretty smoothly. No yelling, no insults, no throwing of things whether verbal or otherwise. She had told him and then she had left. She had to admit to herself that it was a pretty cowardly act on her part to just take off without letting him recover first. But she knew she wouldn't have been able to handle sitting there, on his bed, in silence while he let the news sink in. She wanted him to be sure of what he was feeling before they talked about it. And hopefully the night helped him come to a decision. One that he would, no doubt, want to share with her.

And he had when he called Brooke that morning. She was convinced that after Brooke told him what they were going to be doing all day that he would've found a way to run into them. But he didn't. And while a small part of Peyton was pleased that Lucas honored Brooke's wishes, a bigger part felt disappointed that he didn't. She pulled out her cell phone and checked for the hundredth time if it had somehow spontaneously turned off. It hadn't it. Then why hadn't he called? Peyton couldn't come up with a single answer to that question that didn't make her want to cry out. She tried to push all those unhappy thoughts away. She had been prepared to raise her baby alone. She just didn't really think it was going to be a possibility.

As she looked down at her phone, checking to see if she had any messages, she bumped into someone standing there, looking out at the water. Peyton looked up to apologize and found Lucas looking down at her, smiling.

"I knew you'd come here." He seemed so sure of himself.

"Oh yeah?" She tried to sound annoyed, but she could help but enjoy the fact that he knew her so well.

"Yeah. You had to clear your head."

"And other than stalking me, why are you here?"

Lucas stretched. "I just needed some fresh air after spending the entire day cooped up in my room writing."

"I'm happy to hear that you're writing again."

"Yeah, me too. And it's all thanks to my returning muse." He grinned at her and she had to look away to keep him from seeing her smile.

"So, why aren't you hurrying back to write some more?" Peyton asked playfully. She leaned on the rail, looking out into the water.

"Because we need to talk about some things."

She didn't turn to look at him, instead studied his profile with her peripheral vision. "You're right, we do."

"I'm so sorry about how I responded to your news, Peyt. I can't take it back, and that sucks, but I can try and do better next time."

Peyton looked at him. "Next time?"

"Yeah, the way I see it, we always mess up everything the first time around. So how about we just say that was just the dress rehearsal for the real thing?"

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." He took both of her hands in his. "Please, Peyton, tell me again."

She blushed. "Um, I'm pregnant and you're the father."

Lucas took her into his arms and kissed her passionately. When the kiss ended, he looked straight into her eyes. "I'm so happy, Peyt. I can't wait to have our child with you."

Peyton was glad to be in his arms because she didn't know if her legs had any strength in them. "Wow, that was definitely better than just saying, "oh.'"

He smiled and held her. "I meant every word. This isn't the way I would have thought it would happened, but it doesn't matter. I can't imagine anyone I would rather have carrying my child."

"That's some very nice sentiments, Luke, but all I wanted to know is if you were going to be there for me and the baby."

"And I am going to be there. Every step of the way, I promise."

"That's all I needed to hear. Thank you." Peyton, feeling like she could stand on her own again, pulled away from him. "I can't believe you kissed me."

"I'm not going to apologize. You told me never to apologize for kissing you, remember?"

She nodded. "I remember a lot about that day."

"Yeah, um. I have to apologize for my behavior. It was totally uncalled for and I'm sorry." Lucas turned to water. "There's no excuse for how I acted towards you and you really didn't deserve it."

"No, I didn't. You hurt me, Luke. And I know that you're going to say that I hurt you, too. And you're right, I did. But it was never intentional. And it was! You may have not consciously meant it to be, but it was."

He took a step backwards. She was angry and that's not what he wanted. "Okay, fine. But I am sorry. Really sorry. I hate that I hurt you and I want to make it up to you. I'll be the best boyfriend in history if you'd just give me the chance."

"What are you talking about?"

"We belong together. Everyone knows this. Even fate is trying to show us this." Lucas pulled her close to him again. "I want you back, Peyton."

"But Lindsey-"

"Lindsey and I broke up, you know that."

"Yeah, TWO days ago. There is no way I'm going to be your rebound. I deserve better than that!"

"My rebound? _She_ was my rebound from **you**. I broke up with her for **you**. How could you think, even for one second, that you would be a rebound for me?"

Peyton was aware that she was still in his arms, but she still didn't break away. "I don't know. Can't you see that maybe this is a little too sudden?"

"We've wasted so many years being apart, how can you say that this is sudden?"

Her mind was racing. "And how long before I do something that pisses you off and you leave me? Because that's what you did. You left."

"My heart never did." He looked at her imploringly. "If you believe nothing else believe that I've never stopped loving you."

And then he kissed her. A deep fervent kiss that only they could share. The kiss lasted a while and when they broke, they were both breathless.

"I love you," he said. She could feel the need behind his words. The need for her to believe him. And she did. She knew he loved her.

"I love you, too," she responded quietly. But then she broke away from his embrace. She looked at him sadly. "But it's all too much for me right now. _You're_ too much."

And with that she walked away from him, leaving him with his own words.

He watched her leave with a heavy heart. It saddened him that she hadn't just fallen into his arms like nothing happened. But he wasn't discouraged. He had vowed to fight for her and he was going to. He had hurt her badly and he needed to regain her trust if he had any hope of getting her back. All he needed was hope that they belonged together and she had given him that, in spades.

He knew that she loved him and that she wanted him in her life. That was a start. He was going to do whatever he needed to do to make her want to be with him again. Unfortunately, he didn't know how. Well, maybe he'd come up with something after a good night's sleep. As he walked back to his house, he was sure of one thing: that Peyton's days as a single woman were numbered. He was going to win her back.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed. Some of you are really good guessers. Anyway, there was a typo in the previous chapter that I should've seriously caught. Near the end of the last chapter I wrote that "Lucas was discouraged" when it should have been "Lucas wasn't discouraged." Completely changes the sentence. I'm really embarrassed about it and I've already fixed it. It's just hard proofreading your own work sometimes, but still. So, very sorry about that oversight! Thank you for your continued support.**

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Peyton felt herself breaking down as she continued her journey back to her new house. Her vision blurred and her tears began falling. She had walked away from the love of her life. Why? Because it was too much? What kind of reason was that? He was always too much, but that never stopped her before. But then again, look what happened. He broke her heart.

And that's what it all boiled down to. He broke her heart and she wasn't sure she could handle him doing it again. Especially not now when she had her child to worry about. As much as she loved him, she wasn't going to risk getting hurt again.

She needed to get home before the sobs came. She thought that the last thing she needed right now was to make a complete fool of herself in public.

She was wrong.

"Peyton?"

She knew that voice. But it couldn't be who she thought it was. That voice wouldn't be in Tree Hill. She turned to see Julian Baker, her ex-boyfriend, standing there. She wanted to scream. Seeing her ex again was DEFINITELY the last thing she needed.

Julian looked her over. "Why are you always crying when I run into you?"

Peyton wiped the tears away. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm making a movie with a talented young writer. Perhaps you've heard of him, Lucas Scott?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're lying!"

He shook his head. "No, I'm not. You were right, Peyton. It was a great story. And it's going to be a great movie."

"Are you doing this to torture me? Do you hate me that much?"

"I didn't even know you were living here, to be honest. And besides, isn't hurting you the way into your heart? I'm willing to bet money that Lucas is the reason you're crying right now."

She didn't say anything. She wished that she had never left the damn house that evening.

Julian's face softened. He moved closer to her. "I'm sorry. I really didn't think this would upset you."

Peyton shook her head. She didn't want him to be sweet. She wanted to be angry at him and being sweet would make it difficult for her. "It's not that."

"What is it, then?" He tried wrapping his arm around her waist but she moved away. "Come on, Peyton, you know that I can be a very good listener."

"When you want to be."

"And I want to be. Right now. For you." He lowered his face so he could look at her tear-streaked one. "Let me buy you a drink. Please?"

"No. I mean, I can't drink… I'm pregnant."

He took a step back and took her in. "I-I-I didn't know."

"It's fine." She just wanted the conversation to end so she could go home.

Julian stood up straight, as if he physically manned up. "How about a root beer float then? You always said they made you feel better."

"Not now, Julian. I'm tired and I just want to go home."

"Okay, fine. But I'm going to find you tomorrow, Peyton. And I'm gonna want to have my root beer float with you."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Why not? At the very least, it'll make that author of yours green with envy. Make him pay for whatever he did to make you cry tonight. And maybe it might make him realize what a mistake he's making by being with that pretty little girlfriend of his."

"I'm too old to play those games with people's emotions. Besides, his pretty little girlfriend, as you called her, is currently his ex-girlfriend."

Julian smirked at his former flame. "You do work fast, don't you?"

She groaned. "Fuck off, Julian."

"Be careful there, Peyton. Kids hear everything."

She resisted the urge to slap him and instead turned on her heel and hurried away. Things were going to get a hell of a lot more problematical with Julian around.

Julian bit his lip and watched her figure as she left him behind. He called to her, "I was going to be heading back to LA tomorrow, but now I'm thinking I'm gonna be staying here a while. So, don't you worry your sweet little head, you'll be seeing me around."

He laughed as she gave him the finger without turning back to him. Julian relished the idea of staying for a few more days. At best, he'd get to bed Peyton one more time. At worst, he scrambled up some drama that would definitely make it into Lucas's next book.

-------

The phone was ringing and no one was answering. Jamie looked around for his parents. He knew he wasn't supposed to answer the phone but what if it was an emergency?

"Scott Res'dence." He wasn't sure what "Res'dence" meant but that how his parents always answered the phone.

"Hey, J. Luke. Whatcha doing answering the phone?"

"Uncle Lucas! Um… I don't know."

"Listen, where's your mom?"

"I dunno."

"Okay, where's your dad?"

"I dunno."

"Jamie, I'm pretty sure your parents didn't leave you home alone, so ONE of your parents must be there."

"I guess…"

Lucas sighed. "Can you do me a favor and go find one of your parents for me?"

"But what about Spongebob?"

"Is it a new episode?"

"No, but…"

"Jamie!"

"Fine…"

Jamie placed the phone down and was about to walk away when he realized that his favorite part of the episode was coming up. He sat down on the couch to watch it. After all, his uncle could wait five minutes.

Lucas, still on the line, waited for his nephew to bring back an adult he could talk to. He watched the clock as the minutes passed by and he started to get a little worried. Where the hell could his brother and his sister-in-law possibly be?

Haley came downstairs, feeling refreshed after her shower. She saw her son right where she had left him, in front of the television. "Hey, is your dad still outside mowing the lawn?"

Her son made some sort of noncommittal sound and shrugged, all the while never turning his attention away from the cartoon. She frowned, she was going to have to talk to Nathan about blocking that show if Jamie didn't ease up on his obsession of it. But she was going to worry about that now. She was still in relax mode after her shower. She looked at the clock, it was almost noon. It would be nice to have Peyton and Brooke over for lunch. She picked up the phone to call them and found that the phone was already in use.

"Hello?"

"FINALLY!"

"Lucas?"

"Where were you? I sent your son looking for you over twenty minutes ago!"

"Oh, did you? Give me a minute, won't you?" Haley removed the phone from her ear and covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "James Lucas Scott!"

Jamie's hair on the back of his neck pricked. He was in trouble. The small boy turned to look at his mom, standing there. "Yes, Momma?"

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

Jamie scrunched up his face. "Oh yeah! Uncle Lucas is on the phone for you!"

Haley blinked as her son gave her a sweet smile and turned back to his show. She could have the argument later. She moved the phone back. "I'm here now, what's up?"

"I totally ignored your advice."

"You haven't told Peyton how you really feel about her pregnancy, yet? Jeez, Lucas-"

Lucas cut her off. "No, not that piece of advice. The other one."

"You didn't."

He sighed, obviously embarrassed. "I did."

"What happened?"

"Well, she loves me but she said she couldn't deal with me," he explained. "But I know she wants to be with me. I can tell. I think she's just scared."

"Of course, she's scared! Put yourself in her shoes for a minute. How would you feel?" Haley forced herself to soften her tone. "I was going to call her and Brooke and invite them for lunch…"

"I'll be right over!"

"No! You stay right where you are!" She cringed. She hadn't meant for it to come out like that. "You really need to give her some space now. I'll try to talk to her and see where her head is at and if she says anything that wouldn't be a MAJOR betrayal of trust, I'll tell you."

"Thanks, Haley. I owe you one."

"Yeah, you do."

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Brooke was worried. Peyton had come back from her walk and shut herself in her room. She had begged off breakfast this morning and as far as Brooke knew, she was still in bed. The dark-haired beauty made her way to Peyton's room and knocked lightly on the door.

"P. Sawyer? Are you okay?"

In spite of how she was feeling, Peyton had to smile at the amount of concern her best friend had for her. She really shouldn't let Brooke worry unnecessarily. She got up from her bed and opened the door and allowed Brooke to come in.

"All right, so obviously the answer to my previous question is 'no.' So, what's wrong?" Brooke sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her.

"Last night, I kinda ran into to Lucas…"

"What did he do? Do I have to go kick his ass? What am I saying, look at you. I DEFINITELY need to kick his ass."

"Don't. He was good, really," Peyton said, convincingly. "He was romantic and told me all the things I needed to hear. He's not shirking his parental responsibilities."

"That's good but that doesn't explain the…" Brooke gestured wildly around the room.

"Lucas says he wants me back."

Brooke looked at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to be surprised?"

Peyton huffed. "Yes! I am!"

"Oh, please. I was waiting for this since I found out he broke up with Lindsey." The brunette examined her friend. "You told him no, didn't you?"

Peyton nodded. "I'm stupid, right? I keep turning him down! He going to start doubting I love him!"

"No, he's not. And you're not stupid. I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason for why you said no."

The blonde sniffed. "I'm scared. I don't want to hurt that bad again, Brooke. I don't know if I could handle it."

Brooke wrapped her arms around Peyton. "It's okay, sweetie. That's perfectly understandable. And after all the shit Broody has done to you, it's time he chased you for a while."

Peyton chuckled. "God, do you really think he will?"

"He will if he knows what's good for him." Brooke smoothed her friend's hair. "Now unless the hormones are overload, there's something else, isn't there?"

The pregnant girl gulped and nodded. "On my way back here after talking to Lucas, I ran into my ex-boyfriend."

"Jake?"

"No, not Jake. Julian."

"Producer Julian who couldn't handle being Rebound Boy?"

"Brooke! That's not what he was!"

"Bullshit. Julian was totally your rebound. Not a very good one, but that's what he was, nonetheless." Brooke eyed her friend. "Tell me that he's not into town to win you back."

"No. Worse. He's the producer working with Lucas on the movie adaptation of his book."

"Ooh… That _is_ worse. Do you think Lucas knows about the two of you?" Brooke and Peyton exchange a look and both shake their heads. "No, of course not. There's no way Broody would be able to handle that."

Peyton flopped back on the bed. "And now he's going to ruin everything. There's no way that Lucas is going to want me after Julian gets through with him."

"He's not going to ruin anything," Brooke promised. She was going to make damn sure that producer boy didn't interfere with Peyton's life anymore.

-----

Lucas sat down in front of his computer. He reread the last sentence he wrote to remind himself where he was. And then as if floodgates opened, words began to spill from his fingers and onto the page. He was so engrossed that it took him three rings to realize that his phone was ringing. He should've shut the phone off, but he was afraid that Peyton would call and he didn't want to miss that.

"Hello?"

"Lucas, hi. It's Julian."

"Hey. What's up? Something wrong with movie?"

Julian laughed. "No, everything's going the way that it should."

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. But if you're not calling about the movie, then…?"

"Well, I was going to be heading back to LA but then I realized that you and I never really celebrated the completion of the screenplay."

"What are you talking about, Julian? We had a couple of drinks when I dropped it off to you."

"Come on, Lucas, you call that a celebration?" Julian snickered. "I know small towns are a little tamer than LA, but according to your book, you _used_ to know how to party."

"Okay, fine. What did you have in mind?"

"I'm going to have a small party, here at the hotel tomorrow night. You could bring your friends. You know I would love to meet the inspirations for the characters in the book."

Lucas thought about it. "Actually, that sounds good."

"So, I can expect you here tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

-----

Peyton and Brooke were sitting with the Scott family, enjoying a good lunch. Peyton, again, was struck by how stupid she had been not to have come back to Tree Hill sooner. She couldn't believe that how much she missed because of her stubbornness.

Jamie finished his hot dog. "Okay, I'm done. Can I go now?"

Brooke frowned. "Hey, don't you want to spent some time with your favorite godmother?"

His forehead wrinkled in deep concentration. Brooke or Spongebob? He grinned at his godmother. "Of course, I do, Aunt Brooke. What do YOU want to do?"

"Hmmm… how about we go for a walk?" Brooke winked, reminding him of the deal they made at dinner the other night.

"Oh! A walk! I love walks!"

Haley looked at Brooke and her son suspiciously. "Something's going on here, I can tell."

"On the other hand, it would be nice to get him out from in front of the television for an afternoon," Nathan said. "Keep him out as long as you can."

"No problem." Brooke grinned as Jamie took her hand and they left.

Peyton finished her meal. "That was great. Why is it that only food served in this house is remotely appetizing to me?"

"Because you love us, Sawyer."

"That I do," Peyton agreed. "So, I'm sure you're dying to ask me about last night."

Nathan looked confused. "Why? What happened last night?"

Peyton nodded towards Haley. "Ask your wife. I'm sure Lucas called her and told her all about it already."

Haley looked embarrassed. "He did. I just want you to know that I advised him against that repeatedly."

"Against what?" Nathan was becoming annoyed.

"Your brother tried to get back with Peyton last night," Haley explained.

Nathan laughed. "I'm surprised he held out so long."

"So was Brooke. Apparently I was the only one who wasn't expecting him springing that on me."

"So what happened?" The younger Scott brother was curious to know how badly Lucas had messed things up this time.

"I turned him down." Peyton had to fight to keep an even tone. "I know you're probably wondering why I did but-"

Nathan cut her off. "You don't owe us any explanation. I'm sure whatever your reason were, they were valid."

Peyton smiled at her former boyfriend gratefully. "Thanks, Nate. But I'm afraid that now I ruined any chance with him."

"You didn't." Haley gave her a pointed look. "Trust me. Lucas loves you and he wants to be with you. But you have to be ready for that or it's not going to work out."

"I guess you're right, Hales. But I'm afraid that there's something else going on that I haven't told you, yet."

The phone rang, interrupting Haley from asking her what it was. Haley stood up. "Hold that thought, girlie. I'll be back in one second."

She left to answer the phone, leaving Nathan and Peyton alone. He studied her and found her to be a mess of emotions.

"Okay, I know Haley would kill me if you spilled the beans while she was out of the room, so I'll leave that conversation until she comes back. But, I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"What will it take for Lucas to win you back?"

"Did he ask you to do this because if he did…"

Nathan shook his head. "He didn't. I swear. I'm just curious."

Peyton bit her lip. "Truth be told., I don't know. I need to be certain that he's not going to hurt me again."

"Sawyer, that's impossible. He's going to hurt you again. And you're going to hurt him again. It's inevitable. It's part of being in a relationship. You're going to get hurt. The important thing is if you can work through the pain together."

Peyton's eyes stung. "I don't know if we can."

"I think you guys can," Nathan said. "But I can totally understand that you need Lucas prove himself to you, though."

"Thank you, Nate. That really cleared things up for me."

"Good. Glad I could help."

Haley came back, smiling widely. "So, that was Lucas on the phone. Apparently his producer is throwing a party tomorrow to celebrate Lucas finishing the screenplay and we're all invited."

Peyton mouth went dry. "His producer? Julian?"

Haley looked surprised. "Yeah, why?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Peyton's phone rang and she looked down at it. "It's Lucas!"

"Answer it, he's probably just inviting you to the party tomorrow," Haley urged.

Peyton answered, "Hey, Luke."

"Hey, I'm glad you answered. I was afraid that after last night all my calls would be forwarded directly to voice mail."

"Don't be silly. Anyway, what's up?"

Lucas took a deep breath. "So, I'm sure Haley immediately told you about the party the second she hung up with me. But um, I really wanted to personally invite you. This is a big deal for me and I kinda wanted to share it with all those I care about."

"I don't know, Luke. I'm not going to be very good company and I can't drink and I get tired really easily and…"

"Please, Peyton? I really want you there." Lucas mentally hit himself. So much for keeping the invitation casual. But it didn't matter as long as she said she was coming. "Just don't say no, yet, okay? Will you at least think about coming?"

"Yeah, I'll think about it."

"Thank you, Peyton. I hope you come."

Haley waited patiently until Peyton had hung the phone before asking, "What the hell was all that about?"

Peyton ran her fingers through her hair. "Julian, the producer? He's my ex-boyfriend."

Nathan leaned forward in his chair. "What?"

"We dated for a while, years ago," Peyton told them. "We broke up and I hadn't seen him since. And then suddenly I saw him yesterday and he was such an ass!"

"Of course Lucas doesn't know about this because there's no way he'd be working with Julian if he did know." Haley shook her head. "What about Julian? Does he know about you and Lucas?"

"Oh, yeah. He's well aware." Peyton stood and paced angrily. "This party undoubtedly designed to fuck with Lucas and me."

"Do you really think so?" Haley couldn't believe that the guy that Lucas had raved about for weeks could do something so slimy.

"I know so. So, catch 22. If I go, Julian will do something and it'll mess up whatever truce Lucas and I have. But if I don't go, I'm telling Lucas that I don't care about him and his feelings mean nothing to me. What do I do?"

Haley and Nathan exchanged a look and shrugged. Haley took her friend's hand in hers. "I don't know what to tell you. I mean, isn't there a chance that you could be wrong about Julian?"

"Maybe."

"Why don't you just tell Lucas about Julian?" Nathan asked the question and as soon as it left his mouth both girls looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Because if I tell him, he's not going to work with him and I don't want to ruin this huge chance for Lucas."

"Well, that makes sense, I guess." Nathan scratched the back of his head. At least it made sense for the two girls.

"So, what are you going to do, girlie."

Peyton knew she had to be strong. "I'm going to be there for Lucas and go to the party."

Haley smiled. "Good! I think that's the right decision."

The blonde breathed out slowly. "I sure hope you're right, Haley."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you for all your support and reviews. I'm really glad you guys like this story and I hope that you guys continue to enjoy it all the way to the end. So, again, I have a couple of things to note. One- there's a lot of Brooke in this chapter. It was necessary to keep the story moving in (what I think) is a believable manner. Two- There's some Julian this chapter. Let me make it clear that I hate Julian but I also think his character is necessary to throw a wrench in the works. So anyway, chapter thirteen:**

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The next night the party was already in full swing. Julian scanned the party real quick to see if any of the guests he was most looking forward to seeing had arrived. They hadn't. He growled, unhappily. He never liked being stood up but this went far and beyond that. He has spent some great time and effort on the party and had expected a major pay-off. He grabbed his phone and was about to call Lucas, when he noticed the young author coming through the door with NBA star Nathan Scott and what he could only assume was his wife.

Julian breathed a sigh of relief. There's one.

He plastered a smile on his face and glided over to the new arrivals. He shook hands with Lucas. "You made it! I was thinking I was going to have to find a stand-in for you."

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that. There were some domestic issues that needed to be resolved before we got on the road. Anyway, Julian Baker... this is my brother, Nathan Scott and his lovely wife, Haley James-Scott."

Julian reached for Nathan's hand. "No introductions needed here. I'm a big fan of yours, Nathan. How many points do you think you'll score this season?"

Nathan looked coldly at the producer and didn't shake his hand. "Some. Come on, Haley, I'm hungry. Let's see if we can't score something else greasy and slimy."

Haley gave a curt nod to Julian and followed her husband further into the party. Lucas was embarrassed. "I'm sorry about that. Nathan wasn't feeling well and had to be coerced to come."

Julian couldn't believe that Lucas still didn't know about him and Peyton when he seemed all of his other friends did. "It's no problem, I was just excited to meet him. So, come on, there are some very important people that I want you to meet."

Lucas let himself get led away. He looked around. "Um, did any of my other friends arrive, yet?"

Julian stiffened for a second. "No, I don't think so. Of course, you would know them better than I."

Lucas nodded. "I guess you're right. And no, it seems like they're not here yet." He hoped that Peyton had changed her mind but he was sure that Brooke would drag her to the party anyway. At least he prayed that Brooke would.

"Well, I hope they come," Julian said honestly.

"Me, too."

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"Brooke, this is a mistake!"

Brooke rolled her eyes at the hundredth time that Peyton had said that since they got in the car. "No, it's not. You going there to support Lucas is not a mistake. Besides, if things look fishy, just pull Lucas aside and tell him the truth. Actually, you should do that anyway! He's finished with the screenplay, so his job is done."

"I know, it's just I don't want him mad at me."

"Lucas?" The brunette kept her eyes on the road. "And why would he have any reason to be mad at you?"

"Because it's his producer and-"

"And what? You didn't know that! And besides, he was still shacked up with Lindsey until just the other day!"

"What if he thinks that this baby is Julian's?" Peyton finally voiced a concern that had been plaguing her since the previous day.

Brooke stopped at a red light and looked at Peyton. "Okay, Lucas is an idiot, granted. But I'm pretty sure he will realize that you can't be pregnant NOW from a guy you haven't slept with in years."

"But what if he doesn't believe that? What if he thinks I was still screwing around with Julian when he and I saw each other again?"

"Peyton, this pregnancy paranoia of yours is going to make you sick. So please, calm down. None of that is going to happen. He loves you. And he trusts you. There's no way he's going to think any of that, okay?"

"But what if-"

"What if he does?" Brooke finished the question for her, the frustration evident in her voice. "Then it'll be up to me, Haley, and Nathan to beat some sense back into him. Either way, don't worry about it. I'm serious, you need to relax. Stress isn't good for the baby."

"And yet, here I am going willingly into a stress-filled situation."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "You call this willingly? P. Sawyer, I practically had to push you into the car."

Peyton sighed, realizing that she had lost the discussion with Brooke. "Okay. What if I get sick at the party?"

"Then you vomit all over Julian and we go home for ice cream."

"Oh. Well, okay then."

Brooke felt Peyton relax beside her and Brooke gave a silent prayer of thanks. In truth, she was just as worried as Peyton about the whole party. But she couldn't show it. She needed to be the strong one because her friend needed her. Brooke had never met Julian but that didn't stop her from disliking him anyway.

He better be on his best behavior tonight, Brooke thought. Because if he wasn't, he was going to endure the full wrath of one Brooke Davis. She gave her friend a smile, but inside she was nervous. Why did they have to agree to come to this stupid party?

-------

Lucas caught up with Haley and Nathan. They noticed that he looked a little weary. Haley put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Lucas?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not cut out to be the Hollywood type, you know?"

Nathan glared at Julian from across the room and remarked to his brother, "Yeah, that's because you still have a soul."

"No, it's not that. It's all the fakeness and schmoozing and all that. All this?" Lucas gestured at the party. "It just makes me uncomfortable."

"I know what you mean, Luke." Haley squeezed his shoulder. "Do you want to just take off?"

He shook his head. "I can't. I'm the guest of honor or some such. Besides, Peyton and Brooke aren't here yet. I mean, they're still coming, right?"

Haley checked her watch. "As far as I know. But then again you know Brooke, she's probably arriving fashionably late and is going to make a huge entrance."

Lucas looked at the entrance. "I hope she comes."

"Sawyer's coming, don't worry." Nathan automatically reassured his brother, even though he hoped that she didn't show. Peyton had been right. Julian was planning something, he could tell. The man might as well had a neon sign above his head that flashed "Scumbag,"

Julian caught Lucas's eye and waved him over. "Great. I guess duty calls. I'll be back as soon as I can get away again."

When he was gone, Haley checked her watch again. "Do you think I should call them and see what's holding them up?"

Nathan snorted. "No. I think you should call them and tell them not to show up."

"Nathan! I can't do that! You saw Lucas. He'd be crushed if Peyton doesn't show."

"Haley, that Julian guy is a creep. I guarantee that if she shows up, the shit is going to hit the fan."

Haley knew that Nathan was right. Just standing near the guy had made her skin crawl. She hadn't missed the mean-spirited gleam in his eyes when Julian had greeted them "He's a bad guy, but he's also a professional. I don't think he's stupid enough to do something at a party like this."

Nathan had to agree, Julian was no idiot. But he couldn't help feel that he had something in store for his brother. He really did hope that Peyton didn't show up. Lucas would be upset, but it would probably be a lot less than how upset he would be if Julian's plan came into fruition.

-----

Brooke and Peyton stepped into the party. This was Julian's party, all right. It's was practically identical to all the other industry parties he had dragged Peyton to. The blonde wondered if she could really do this. Then her best friend, took her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Peyton breathed. That's right, she could do it with a little help from her friends.

"So, what do you want to do first, P. Sawyer?"

Peyton looked around the crowd, she was searching for familiar faces. She smiled when she saw some. "Haley and Nate are over there!"

Brooke narrowed her eyes to see through the crowd of people. "Where?"

Peyton pointed away from where Brooke was looking. "Over there."

"Oh yeah! There they are."

The two girls hurried through the crowd over to their two friends, keeping a strong grip on each other's hand. The party wasn't crowded enough for either of them to get lost. It was more a sign of emotional support and strength.

"Hey guys!"

At Brooke's greeting, Haley and Nathan turned to the pair of them. Brooke caught Nathan's face fall.

Haley, on the other hand, smiled with relief. "You guys came!"

"Of course we did. Brooke Davis miss a Hollywood party? I think not." Brooke turned, showing off her dress. "What do you think?"

"Beautiful dress as always, Brooke," Haley said. "Speaking of which, thanks so much for lending me this one."

"Who said anything about lending it to you? It's yours, Tutor Mom!"

Haley sputtered. "Brooke, it's too much."

Brooke grinned. "That's funny! That's exactly what Peyton said when I told her."

Haley looked at Peyton. She looked beautiful, but also extremely nervous and uncomfortable. "Hey, girlie, are you okay?"

"Of course she's not," Nathan answered for her. "She stuck at this party she didn't want to go to just waiting for the bomb to fall."

"Nathan!" Haley gave him a look.

"He's right," Peyton said. "I don't want to be here. This feels wrong, you know?"

"Stop it. Nothing's going to happen." Brooke tried to soothe her friend. "Nathan, will you come with me to get some champagne? I don't want to brave these horny industry types by myself."

Nathan didn't want to leave Peyton but he knew that Haley would take good care of her. "Fine, the bar's that way."

"P. Sawyer, do you want anything?"

"Some juice or something. I don't know."

"Will do. We'll be right back, okay?" Brooke took Nathan's arm and led him in the direction of the bar.

"Jesus, Brooke, easy on the grip, okay?"

"Listen, Peyton's a mess and you're not helping. She's here now so what we need to do is make sure that she leaves the party without anything major happening to her."

"Maybe she should leave now, then," he grumbled.

They reached the bar and Brooke ordered the drinks. "So, which one is he?"

"Can't you tell? It's the slimy one talking to Luke over there."

Nathan was right, Julian was slimy. He was attractive and charming, obviously, but there was something malignant there underneath the surface. It was almost impossible to see if you weren't looking for it. Brooke shuddered.

"Now you understand." Nathan had felt Brooke's reaction to the producer.

"It's doesn't matter," she said, keeping her voice steady. "Our priority is to keep him from Peyton."

Nathan smiled. "By any means necessary?"

Oh, Haley was not going to be happy with her when she found out about this. "Yes, by any means necessary."

"Good, now I'm hoping he tries something."

Brooke looked at Nathan, all ready the pound the living shit out of the producer. She handed him Peyton's juice. "Here, bring this over to Peyton. I'll be there in a minute."

"I thought you afraid of all these horny industry types."

"No, that was just an excuse to talk to you in private. To be completely honest, they should be afraid of me."

Nathan laughed. "Don't be too long, okay? I don't want to be worrying about you, too."

Brooke grinned. "I won't."

She watched her friend weave through the crowd until he reached his wife and his friend. Brooke stood up straight and walked towards Lucas. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the conversation he was having. Brooke heard Julian make a joke and then went back to his story.

"Brooke!" Lucas said when he recovered from his shock of being absconded. He hugged her. "You came! And you look beautiful."

"Don't I always?"

"Yes, you do, Pretty Girl." He gave her another squeeze. "So, you here alone or...?"

"Peyton's here, too."

His eyes lit up. "She's here?"

"Yeah, she's over there with Nathan and Haley if you'd like to say hi to her."

Luke gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm so obvious, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but that's part of your charm." Brooke led him over to her. "Here she is. Looking really good in a Brooke Davis original."

Peyton turned, blushing, only to find herself standing in front of the love of her life. "Lucas!"

"Wow, Peyt. You look amazing." He stepped forward and hugged her. His heart jumped when he felt her sink into his arms. His sniffed her scent and whispered into her hair, "I'm so glad you came. Thank you."

Peyton just squeezed him in response. This was going to be the highlight of her night and so she was going to make it last as long as possible.

"Oh jeez, get a room." Brooke's voice was a little harsher than she meant it to be, but she was feeling a little lonely.

The two blondes broke away from each other, blushing. Peyton smiled at Lucas, "You look really good yourself."

"Thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me to have you," Lucas looked at Haley, Nathan and Brooke. "All of you here with me tonight."

Peyton smiled and she noticed that Julian was staring at her. He gave her a smile that made her feel dirty. Then he said something to the people he was talking to and started heading towards her.

Brooke noticed Peyton's face go white and followed her gaze to see the sleazy producer making his way towards the group. Brooke squeezed Peyton's hand on the way past and the blonde saw her friend deftly intercept Julian.

The artist took a deep breath. "Lucas, I need to talk to you. Alone."

Lucas was surprised (and definitely pleased) at Peyton wanting to be alone with him and turned to Nathan and Haley to apologize. However, the married couple just nodded, both of them appearing to have been expecting it

"You guys should go by the window, there aren't that many people there." Nathan pointed towards the area that he was talking about.

His felt a tingle up his spine when she took his arm as he led her away. This was the best party he had ever been to.

----

Brooke grabbed Julian by his lapel. "Julian Baker..."

Julian looked down and was distracted from his goal by the beautiful and sexy brunette in front of him. "And you are?"

"Brooke Davis."

"_The_ Brooke Davis?"

"The one and only."

"And here I was beginning to think you were some kind of myth," he said, smiling without any warmth.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, I constantly heard stories about you from Peyton, how great and wonderful you were. But in all the time that we were together, there wasn't a single visit, letter, or phone call from the elusive Brooke Davis." Julian looked her up and down. "Apparently Peyton and I had very different ideas of what a good friend is."

Brooke fought the urge to hit him. "Listen, you seem like a very smart guy so I don't understand how you could be so stupid."

"And how am I being stupid?"

"Well for one, you're trying to get between Lucas and Peyton and that never ends well for the third party. I should know."

He rolled his eyes. "As far as I was to understand, there is no Lucas and Peyton right now."

"There's always Lucas and Peyton. And if you read his book, you should know that."

"Well, I'm so glad you're looking out for me."

"Oh, I'm not. I'm looking out for my friends. You see, that's the other reason you're being stupid. You're pissing me off."

"Am I supposed to be scared, Brooke Davis?"

"You should be wetting your pants." Brooke stared into his eyes and he saw that she might be one person that he wouldn't want to mess with.

"Fine, I'll leave them alone." Julian smiled as he noticed a new guest arrive. "Besides, I have other people to meet."

Brooke watched carefully as Julian made his way towards the door, the complete opposite side of the room where Peyton and Lucas were talking. She saw him greet a well-dressed woman she didn't recognize and talk to her for a bit. Still, something felt wrong. Why had he given up so easily?

-------

Peyton led Lucas to the secluded corner of the room that Nathan had pointed out. She smiled nervously at him. She didn't have any idea how she was going to broach the subject of her having had been Julian's girlfriend.

Lucas brushed her hair from her face lovingly. "How are you feeling tonight?"

She closed her eyes at his touch. "I'm a little tired. According to the doctor, I should expect to be extremely tired until I hit the second trimester."

"I'm sorry, Peyt. I guess it really was selfish of me to ask you to come."

She shook her head. "No, I get it. You wanted to share your success with your friends. There's nothing selfish about that."

"I wanted to share this with _you_." He breathed out and looked into her eyes. "When all my dreams come true, the one I want standing next to me is you."

Her cheeks burned. He always seemed to know how to make her even more in love with him. She took his head in her hands and kissed him deep.

"What was that for?"

"Many reasons. Mainly because you've initiated all of our latest ones and I needed to even the score."

"Oh really?"

"No," she laughed. "I love you, Luke. With all my heart."

"I know, Peyt. I love you, too."

"I was afraid you might not believe that after the other night."

Lucas shrugged. "It was upsetting, I won't lie. But I didn't doubt your love for me for a second."

"Oh, well, that's good."

"Peyton, I meant what I said when I told you that I want to be with you. But I also understand that you have a lot going on in your life now. I don't want to complicate things for you. But then again, I don't believe I would be."

Peyton pushed him playfully. "You sound like Brooke."

"She's a very wise woman, you know."

Peyton nodded. "Okay, before you and I can talk about maybe possibly reinitializing our relationship, I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I hope so, Luke." Peyton bit her lip. Here it goes, another bombshell. "Julian and I... we used to date."

He had expected her to say any number of things. But not that. Certainly not that. "What?"

"In LA. Right after your book signing when I thought you were seeing Lindsey."

"Was it serious?"

Peyton nodded. "Yes, but we were only together for a year and we broke up because he realized that I would never stop loving you."

Lucas felt a pounding headache coming on. "But I don't understand. I showed him pictures of you and he never said anything."

"I don't know what to say to that. But I didn't know he was here until I ran into him the other night. I wanted to tell you sooner but I didn't want to ruin this opportunity for you."

"So, he knows you're here and he still didn't tell me?"

"Luke..." Peyton reached out for him and he pulled away.

"Just give me a minute, please?"

She didn't say anything because he didn't sound angry with her. She could tell that he was confused and hurt. So they stood there in silence, a few feet apart from each other. Peyton watching him and Lucas staring at the floor.

And then a voice. "Luke?"

Lucas and Peyton turned to the speaker. They both stood there, in shock.

Lucas spoke first. "Lindsey?"

Lindsey smiled uncertainly at him. "Yeah, I made it."

Peyton looked at Lucas. After all he had said to her. After all she had put herself through worrying about how he was going to react to her news. And all the time he had invited his ex-girlfriend to this party. She could feel her heart breaking in her chest.

"Excuse me..." Peyton's voice broke and she pushed past Lucas and hurried away from him and his ex-girlfriend.

"Peyton! WAIT!" Lucas called after her, but she didn't even turn. He looked over at Lindsey who had tears in her eyes.

"Peyton?" Her voice cracked. "She's here?"

"What are you doing here, Lindsey?" Lucas had wanted to ask a question but it sounded more like an accusation.

"Julian called me yesterday and told me about this party. He said that it was a pretty big deal and that _you _wanted me here." Lindsey breathed out, trying to keep her breathing steady. "But that wasn't true, was it? Why would you care when you had your precious _Peyton_ here?"

"Lindsey..." What could he say? "I'm sorry, I never told Julian anything. I wish there was something I could do..."

She put her hand up. "Don't you feel sorry for me. I don't want your pity. I don't want _anything_ from you."

"I started writing again. I have some pages for you and I can-"

She cut him off with a glare. "When I get back to New York, I'll have you reassigned to a new editor. Goodbye, Lucas."

And with that she walked away.

------

Peyton hurried straight to where Brooke had just rejoined Nathan and Haley. The three of them turned to see their pregnant friend in tears. Brooke rushed over to her and enveloped her in a firm, protective hug before leading her back to Nathan and Haley.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Haley asked as Brooke held her tight to her. "What did Lucas say?"

"It's not what he said..." Peyton spoke so softly that they all had to struggle to hear her. "It what he did. He invited Lindsey to the party."

"He did?" That was odd. Haley was sure that Lucas would have told her if he had invited her. "Oh honey, I'm sure it was only because she's his editor."

Peyton shook her head violently. "You didn't see her. She wasn't here as his editor, Haley. That much was obvious."

Brooke and Nathan shared a look. They were both thinking the same thing: Julian.

The young designer handed Peyton off to Nathan as if she was a tired child. "I think it's time to take Peyton home. Why don't you and Nathan drop Peyton off at home and I'll handle Lucas."

And Julian, she thought.

Nathan frowned. He wanted to take care of Julian himself. But as Peyton clutched onto him, he knew that he could take his revenge later. But right now, he had to take care of his friend. "Come on, Sawyer, let's get you home."

She nodded, sniffling. "I wish I had never come to this stupid thing."

Nathan gave his wife a look over the blonde's head that said, 'I told you so.' Haley nodded. He had been right and now she was going to have to hear him complain about how she should have listened to him. It was going to be a long night.

Brooke watched Nathan and Haley lead Peyton out of the party. She saw the girl she had seen Julian talking to earlier walking away from Lucas. Ah, so that was Lindsey. Brooke didn't want Lindsey running into an emotionally unstable Peyton outside so she caught up with the editor.

"Lindsey, right?"

Lindsey blinked several times so she could focus on the person in front of her. "Yeah, why?"

"I'm Brooke. Brooke Davis. We spoke on the phone?"

Lindsey chuckled sardonically. Was this girl really going to mess with her tonight? "Yeah, I remember. You said that I was a bitch."

"At least there's nothing wrong with your memory." Brooke cringed. "Anyway, I'm sorry for the bitch comment. My best friend was in the hospital and I took out my frustrations out on you."

Lindsey shrugged. "Why are you apologizing to me? Lucas and I broke up and I'm sure you don't want to start a friendship with me."

"No, but I do need to know something."

"What?"

"Did Lucas personally invite you to this party?" Brooke knew that asking straight out like that might no be the smartest way to go about it, but it was probably the quickest.

"No. You want to rub that in my face? Did you and Julian come up with this nasty little practical joke to make me think that he wanted me here?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't know anything about it."

"Whatever." Lindsey stepped aside and walked past Brooke and out of the party.

Brooke found Lucas still in the same place he and Peyton had been talking. She walked over to him. "Hey."

"Did Peyton leave?" His voice was emotionless. That was never a good sign,

"Yeah, Nathan and Haley are driving her home."

"They were my ride."

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, and now I am."

"Lindsey was here."

"I know. She left, too."

"She's mad at me. Peyton's mad at me. Are you mad at me?" His blue eyes raised to meet hers.

"No, I'm not mad at you. And Peyton's only mad at you because she thinks that you invited Lindsey to be here tonight."

"I didn't." His voice sounded so hurt. Like a little boy's.

"I know. Julian did."

"Julian." All the hurt faded from his voice and was replaced by anger.

Brooke took his arm and gently guided him away from the corner. "Yeah, he made a huge mess of things that you're going to have to clean up. But there's nothing you can do about it now. Let me take you home, okay?"

"Fine. I just have to do one thing first." Lucas pulled away from Brooke and marched over to Julian.

Julian noticed the young writer walking towards him and forced himself to don a concerned expression. "Luke, what's wrong?"

Lucas punched him as hard as he could in the face. Julian dropped to the ground holding his nose and yelled, "What the **FUCK**?"

Lucas, without saying a word to the producer whose nose was obviously broken, walked back to where Brooke was standing. "Okay, _now_ I'm ready to go."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Things take a different turn at the end of this chapter than I had originally plan, but that's where my muse insisted the story needed to go. Don't like it? Blame her. Anyway, here's the last chapter for the next few days since I don't think that I'll have the time to write too much this weekend. Sorry about that, but I promise that there will be a new chapter up by Monday night, at the latest. So, onto the story...**

**_______________**

The next morning, Peyton woke up earlier than she had meant to. She had wanted to spend the next thirty-odd weeks in bed. But even so, six-thirty in the morning was really early for her. The blonde considered trying to go back to sleep but since her stomach kept growling furiously at her, she knew that wasn't going to be an option. Peyton opened her door and walked into the kitchen. She shrieked in surprised when she saw Lucas sitting there at the table.

"What are you doing here?" Peyton clutched her chest. He had really surprised her.

"I had to beg Brooke to bring me here. And then she made me promise that I would wait until you woke up on your own."

Peyton frowned. She was going to kill her best friend for doing this to her. The least the brunette could have done would have been calling Peyton's cell phone and telling her of Lucas's presence. But no, Brooke had let Peyton unknowingly walk into his trap, wearing only a long shirt that _he_ had given her. She so wished that she was wearing pants at the moment. Especially when she felt his eyes on her legs and she heard his swallow hard.

Lucas quickly looked away from the gorgeous unclothed legs and stood up. "I'm sorry about last night."

The young artist looked at the author. She could tell that he was exhausted and indeed, sorry. Peyton shook her head. "Go home, Lucas."

"Peyt, please don't do this. I need to talk to you!"

"Go home," she repeated. "Go home and sleep. You look tired and you obviously need your sleep."

He had to smile at the fact that she still cared. Even when she was mad at him, she still tried to take care of him. "I can't. I know that I won't be able to sleep until we talk."

"Well, I don't know if there's anything I want to hear from you right now."

"I punched Julian."

Peyton's eyes grew wide. "Color me mistaken. You hit him?"

Lucas nodded. "I think I broke his nose."

She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. The mental image of Lucas hitting Julian was a hot one. Peyton loved his sensitive and sweet nature, but she had to admit that there was something really sexy about Lucas being all manly and violent.

"I wish I could have been there to see it," she said.

"About that, Peyt… I didn't invite Lindsey. Julian did."

"What?"

"He called her and told her that I wanted her there. But I didn't. YOU are the only person that I wanted to be there."

Peyton slapped her own forehead. How could she have been so stupid. OF COURSE, it was Julian who called Lindsey. "What an ass!"

"I can't believe you dated him," Lucas said, quietly. He didn't want to fight with her, but they needed to clear the air about it.

"He wasn't like that with me. He was sweet and caring and charming. But it was all an act, something that I realized the more we fought." Peyton looked at Lucas. "Besides, I needed someone to distract me from my broken heart."

"Did he?"

"From being sad? Sometimes. From you? Never."

Lucas nodded. "I know what you mean, Peyt. You just described my relationship with Lindsey."

"Are you mad at me for dating Julian?"

"Of course not. And I'm sorry at how I reacted to the news. If Lindsey hadn't show up, I would have taken you in my arms and told you that it didn't matter to me. He was your past and I wanted your present and your future."

Peyton lowered her head. "I would have like that."

"Me too," he said. "So, you're not mad at me because of Lindsey showing up, right?"

"No, I'm not mad. Well, I am mad, just not at you."

"Good." Lucas watched her. "So where does this leave us, then?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. Her stomach grumbled and she blushed furiously.

Lucas smiled. "Sit down and let me make you breakfast."

"Fine, but after that, you have to go home and get some sleep, okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Sounds good to me. Oh and Brooke told me about the label thing. I think it's a great idea."

"You do?"

"Definitely. I mean, if anyone could do it, it would be you, Peyton."

"You said that almost like you meant it." She lowered her head in embarrassment. God, why did he keep having to make her blush?

"I do mean it, Peyt." He turned to look into her eyes and he smiled, warming her body all the way to her toes. "I believe in you."

------

Brooke quietly made her way downstairs, later that morning. She was feeling guilty for having let Lucas come over, but she had wanted to make sure that he put ice on his hand. The young designer hoped that Peyton had slept in late, like she usually did. No such luck.

She found the downstairs empty. Lucas was gone and Peyton wasn't in her room. Brooke's overactive imagination started running away from her. She knew that Peyton was all hormonal and moody and wondered if her blond friend could have actually done something to Lucas. The brunette was lost in little murder scenario in her head that she didn't hear Peyton come in.

"Look, who's finally up," Peyton said, closing the door behind her.

"Where have you been? Are you okay? Is Lucas okay? Where is he? You didn't do anything to him, did you?"

"Whoa, what's with the twenty questions?"

Brooke breathed out, calming down. "So, where were you?"

"I was dropping Lucas off."

"Intact?"

Peyton raised an eyebrow. "Yes. I didn't do anything to him. I can't promise that I will be able to make that same statement about somebody else, though."

Brooke put her hands up defensively. "I know what I did was stupid and I should have dropped him off at his house, but you should have seen him. I did what I thought was best for both of you. I'm sorry that you don't agree, just don't hurt me."

"I wasn't talking about you, psycho. I was talking about Julian."

"Oh. Well, yeah. Did Lucas tell you him punched him?"

Peyton blushed, nodding. "Yeah. I wish I had been there."

"I wish I had my camera phone out! I so would have recorded it for prosperity."

"Was it as hot as I think it was?"

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, you have a nasty little imagination there, P. Sawyer. They weren't naked and covered in oil, so I'm thinking your fantasy might be a little different from what really happened."

Peyton stuck her tongue out. "So, you told Lucas about your offer to fund my label, huh?"

Brooke looked away. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm not mad you told him. In fact, I glad you did. He convinced me to do it."

The brunette clapped her hands together. "I knew he could! This is awesome!"

"Yeah, and it gets better," Peyton said, smiling. "Before dropping him off, he made me drive to Tric."

"Isn't it a little early for some heavy drinking?"

Peyton laughed. "I told Lucas that, too. But, actually he took me upstairs to show me an little office that he would let me use, rent-free, for my label."

"So, we in business?"

"Absolutely!"

-----

Haley walked into the bedroom with out knocking on his door. She found Lucas asleep, face down in his pillow. She had been worried about him all night and was glad to see that he was okay. Nathan had forced her to give him until morning before she went and checked up on him. She sat down at the corner of his bed and smiled. It was funny how sleep could make the most tortured of soul look peaceful. Then, despite how hard she tried to keep it quiet, she sneezed loudly, effectively waking the boy from his slumber.

"Huh?" That was all he could manage. He had only fallen asleep half an hour previous to this interruption.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Haley?" He groaned. He remembered the last time she had woken him up some days ago. "Are you mad at me again?"

"What? No, I was worried about you and thought you might like to talk."

"No. No talking. I want to go back to sleep."

Haley tried to push him out of bed, but he wasn't cooperating with her. He didn't budge an inch, so she tried a different approach to get him out of bed and talking. "Come on, it's getting late. I'll make you breakfast."

"I already had breakfast." His voice was slightly muffled as he snuggled back into his pillow.

"When?"

"Earlier. With Peyton."

That was the wrong thing to say if he had ever wanted any chance of being left alone that morning. Now Haley was insanely curious. "What? You saw Peyton already? When? What happened? Is she still mad at you? Lucas, come on, talk to me."

"Later. Sleeping now."

"Lucas Eugene Scott, you cannot just tell me something like that and expect me to leave you alone. Spill. I need details."

"Haley…" he whined. "I just went to sleep a little while ago. Can't we do this later? Please? I promise I'll tell you all that you want to know, just not now, okay?"

"Fine." Haley stood up. If he wasn't going to tell her, then she would have to go Peyton. "Should I tell Peyton you say hi?"

He didn't respond, Haley turned to look at him and found that he had fallen back asleep.

-----

Peyton and Brooke were at her new office space at Tric. They were examining the place and discussing decorating it.

"P. Sawyer, you have to listen to me. There's been studies made and a soft pastel color promotes good feelings."

"Still, I'm not painting the walls pink, Brooke. You know I hate pink!"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. You had to paint your walls a blood red color."

"It was pretty."

"It was gruesome."

Peyton shrugged. "I liked it."

"I shudder to think what prismatic atrocity you're thinking of painting the walls of the nursery." Brooke groaned. "Or worse you'll draw some creepy depressing angst-ridden "everyone leaves" thing on the wall. That could damage a child, you know."

The blonde laughed, but thought about what she had said. "Speaking of a nursery, we don't have an empty room for one."

"That's true, _we _don't."

"Brooke."

"What?" Brooke gave her an innocent look. "I'm just merely stating that Lucas happens to have an empty bedroom at his house."

"Are you that sick of me already, that you're kicking me out of the house?"

"No! I just think that a lot can happen between now and when you give birth. You could even be back with Broody."

Peyton gave her an exasperated look. Her cell phone rang. It was a welcome interruption. "Hello?"

"Hey, girlie."

"Haley! How are you doing?"

"Fine. And I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better than last night."

"Yeah, I am."

"So," Haley began. "I heard you saw Lucas already."

"He told you? And here I thought he'd sleep until late in the afternoon."

"I woke him up," Haley said without the slightest bit of remorse. "Unfortunately, he only let it slip that the two of you had breakfast before he fell back asleep."

"Ah, and you are dying for a story."

"Of course."

"How about I start off with this little tidbit? Lucas punched Julian."

"This morning?"

"No, last night before he left the party."

"Nice…" Haley chuckled. "Nathan's going to be so jealous. All he's wanted to do since he met Julian is punch him."

"According to both Brooke and Lucas, Julian's nose is completely busted."

"Let's see him try and be charming now," the young wife said. "As much as I'm enjoying the thought of that jerk with his nose broken, I still can't believe Lucas punched him just because he used to go out with you."

"Oh, that's right, you still don't know!" Peyton had forgotten that Haley and Nathan were still out of the loop. "Lucas didn't invite Lindsey. Julian did. And he told her that Lucas wanted her to come."

"Poor Lindsey."

Peyton would have glared at Haley if she had been in the same room with her. "I'm going to let that slide because I know she was your friend for a while. But anyway… Last night, Lucas begged Brooke not to drive him home and instead take him to the house."

"How very Lucas."

"Brooke relented only after he promised to wait until I woke up on my own," Peyton related the story to her friend. "Unfortunately, Brooke didn't think to warn me ahead of time and this morning I stepped out into the kitchen half-naked to find Lucas waiting for me."

"Why were you half-naked?"

"I had just gotten up and I didn't think we had a visitor at six-thirty in the morning."

"What are talking about here, just panties?"

"No! What am I, Brooke?" Peyton asked and Brooke turned and gave her a questioning glance. Peyton shook her head and continued her conversation with Haley. "I was in a long t-shirt. But I wasn't wearing any pants!"

"That must have been torture for Luke."

"It was no picnic for me, I'll tell you."

"So, you guys talked?"

"Yeah, he explained the whole Lindsey situation and told me that he wasn't mad at me because I went out with Julian."

"That's big of him," Haley said, sarcastically.

"But still, it was nice to hear. And then we talked about the whole starting my own record label because Brooke told him about that last night."

"Oh yeah, what did he say?"

"He said that he knew I could do it and that he believed in me."

Haley could hear her friend smiling as she said it. "So you're doing it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

-----

It was nearing dinnertime by the time Lucas woke up. He had realized how tired he was until he woke up, refreshed. He was sad that he had missed a whole day of writing but rest was necessary if he was going to be in tiptop shape.

He was awake, but he wasn't quite ready to leave the comfort of his bed. He couldn't remember the last time he just lounged in be and did nothing. He had slept the whole day away, so it didn't really matter if he just hung out doing nothing.

Lucas allowed his mind to go back to this morning with Peyton.

_They had just left Tric and Lucas could tell that the Peyton was really excited about her new label. He was happy that he could be a part of something that would make her smile like that._

_Peyton felt his eyes on her and she blushed. "What?"_

"_You're beautiful when you smile."_

"_Too bad I don't smile often, then."_

_He placed his hand over the hand she hand on the shifter. "It is a downright shame."_

"_God, Luke. You always know what to say to make me feel like a giggly teenager."_

"_Look who's talking. You made me feel like I was back in high school when you came out your room this morning." He laughed. "Your legs all bare and just wearing my old t-shirt that you stole years ago? I nearly had a heart attack."_

_Peyton became serious. "Don't joke about that. How are you doing with your HCM?"_

"_I'm fine. I take my pills and I haven't had any problems." He was suddenly serious. "You know, I hadn't even thought about that."_

"_About what?"_

"_Our baby might have HCM. I'm so sorry, Peyt… I can't believe that-"_

"_Why are you apologizing?" Peyton asked, cutting him off._

"_Because our child has fifty percent chance of having it."_

"_Lucas, if our son or daughter has a heart like yours, then I'll be happy." She turned her hand under his so she could hold his hand. "You're a good man, Lucas Scott, with a good heart. And you're going to be a great father."_

"_You sure?"_

_Peyton brought their intertwined hands up to her face and kissed his hand. "I'm sure. I'm proud to be carrying your child, Luke."_

"_Thank you, Peyton." He leaned back in the seat of her car. "Hey, I was meaning to ask, where did you get your old car?"_

"_My dad had a friend of his hang on to it for me. Apparently my dad knew I'd be back one day and I'd be needing my car back.'_

_Lucas was grateful for Larry Sawyer's insight. He couldn't imagine Peyton driving anything but her temperamental old Mercury Comet. "Let me take a look underneath the hood later. I want to make sure that the mother of my child doesn't break down and get stranded."_

"_If I do, I'll just call you to pick me up."_

"_You better."_

_She smiled. This was nice. The two of them just being together with no drama hanging between them. "I'm glad I'm here."_

"_I'm going to pretend that you meant here with me instead of here in Tree Hill."_

"_What if I told you that I meant both?"_

"_Then I'd tell you there's no other place in this world that I would rather be." They were having a good time together and he didn't want to ruin it. But there were things that he needed to be said. "I love you, Peyton."_

"_I love you, Lucas," she replied, easily. _

_She arrived at his house shortly and they sat in her car in silence. Neither of them wanted the moment to end. Then Lucas yawned loudly and Peyton knew that she couldn't keep him away from his bed any longer._

"_Thank you," she said._

"_For what?"_

"_For everything." She leaned in towards him and kissed him. It wasn't like the desperate and passionate ones that they had shared in the previous days. It was a soft and gentle kiss and it ended far too quickly for Lucas's taste. "Now, go to bed."_

_He got out of the car and he barely felt the ground beneath his feet. They were getting closer, he could feel it. He gave her a small wave as he opened his door and watched her drive away. Lucas didn't have time to rejoice in the great morning he had with Peyton. He was too tired. He had barely managed to get undressed before fell into bed, falling asleep immediately._

He wanted to call her and see how she was doing, but he was afraid of being too needy. Things had progressed farther today between them and he hadn't done anything but be himself. Lucas was finally listening to Haley's advice.

And speaking of Haley…

He grabbed his cell phone and called his best friend.

"Scott Residence."

"Hey, Nate."

"Luke… I can't believe you punched Julian!"

"You upset?"

"Just jealous that you got to do it first," Nathan said. "So, what's up?"

"Well, I promised your wife I'd fill her in on my early morning activities."

"Don't worry about it," the dark-haired brother told him. "She already pumped Peyton for information and got the whole story from her."

"Your wife is not a patient woman."

"Not when it comes to gossip about you two," Nathan agreed. "I heard that she promised you breakfast, so how does dinner sound as a substitute?"

"I think I can make a sacrifice." Lucas laughed.

"Good, because I need reinforcement of the testosterone kind. Brooke's already here and Peyton's coming over once she finishes up whatever she's doing."

"Peyton's going?" Lucas cringed when he heard how excited his voice sounded. His brother was so going to tease him about that.

"Yeah. Now you're DEFINITELY coming."

"Oh, yeah."

--------

Peyton took a deep breath. She was going to lose her nerve if she didn't knock on the door soon. Maybe she should just leave. It was probably a mistake for her to even be here. No, she came here for a reason and she was going to go through with it. She lifted her hand and knocked softly on the hotel door and immediately wished she hadn't.

The door opened, revealing Julian and his broken nose. Peyton had to force herself to refrain from laughing. He looked her up and down and leered at her.

"What are you doing here, Peyton?"

"I heard that Lucas punched you."

"And you came to see if I was all right? How sweet of you." His voice was dripping with venom, but he stepped aside so she could come in.

"I came here because I wanted to ask you to leave. There's nothing more for you here. Just go to LA and make your movie."

"Ah, if things were only that simple." Julian gingerly touched his nose. "Your boyfriend did a very stupid thing by punching me."

"He is not my boyfriend," Peyton said. She wasn't sure what they were exactly. But he definitely wasn't her boyfriend… yet. "And to be honest, from where I'm standing, hitting you was the smartest thing he's done in a long time."

"How is assaulting me in front of a crowd a smart thing?" He gave her a slimy smile that made her uncomfortable. "You know, I was actually thinking of pressing charges."

"You wouldn't!"

"I think you know me well enough to know that I most certainly would."

Peyton growled. "You jerk! It's not like you didn't deserve it. You were just getting what you had coming."

"Maybe, but I don't think the law care very much about that. Well, I haven't really decided whether or not to go through with it. You could always try and persuade me not to."

"Please, Julian, don't do this." Her voice cracked. "Just be the decent guy I once thought you to be and just leave town."

"Sorry, wrong answer," he said. "The correct answer would have been, 'Don't do this and I'll sleep with you.' Let's try it again. You could always persuade me not to…"

"You pig!" She slapped him.

He held his cheek and then he laughed. "My, you're slow today. Would you like to try it a third time?"

"I'm not going to sleep with you, Julian." She quickly made her way to the door. It had been a stupid idea to come.

He grabbed her arm. "If you don't sleep with me, Peyton, I'm going to make things very unpleasant for your little sweetheart."

Her heart dropped. Peyton trembled in his grip and he smiled at her lack of effort to pull away from him.

"I can see that you're all conflicted and I respect that. I'll tell you what. You sleep on it tonight and you give me your decision tomorrow."

With that he let her go. Her stomach turned and she barely managed to keep her lunch from resurfacing. She knew she couldn't sleep with Julian. Not after all he had done. But then again, how could she let Julian ruin Lucas's life? Whatever her decision was, the end result wasn't going to be a pretty one. Why had she ever gone to see him?


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. There's stuff I'd like to address, but to avoid spoilers, I'm going to wait until the end.**

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Lucas checked his watch. It was getting a little late and he was starting to get worried about Peyton. Looking across the room at his friends, he could tell that he wasn't the only one. Brooke kept checking her cell phone nervously while Haley's eyes never left the phone in the living room. Nathan was playing with his son, but Lucas could tell by his brother's hunch shoulders that his mind was elsewhere.

"I'm calling her," Lucas announced.

Brooke nodded, "I was two seconds away from saying that myself."

He called her. One ring, two rings, three rings. Lucas felt his muscles tighten with every second she didn't answer.

"Hello?" Peyton's voice was soft, but he could still tell that she had been crying.

"What's wrong?"

"Lucas," was all she said before starting to cry again.

"Peyton, what is it? Do I need to come get you? Where are you?"

"I'm parked outside." A loud sob. "I just wanted to calm down before… coming in."

"She's outside," Lucas informed his friends. Then back to Peyton, "Do you want me to go to you?"

"Yes."

"I'll be right there." Lucas hung up the phone. "I'm going to go sit with her for a bit, okay. We'll be in soon."

The elder Scott brother made his way out of the house and walked over to Peyton's car. He could see her hunched over the steering wheel. He climbed into the passenger's side. Once inside, he wrapped his arms around her.

"Shhh… I'm here. It's okay."

She shook her head violently. "No, it's not. Nothing's okay!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath. "I went to see Julian today. I wanted to tell him to leave Tree Hill. To leave us alone. And he wouldn't hear of it. And then… he threatened that he would press charges against you if I didn't sleep with him."

"_**WHAT?!?**_" Lucas couldn't remember a time in recent memory when he had been so angry. He wanted to kill Julian. His rage momentarily rendered him speechless and his silence allowed Peyton to continue talking.

"I slapped him and told him I wouldn't do it. He told me to sleep on it, that I should tell him my answer tomorrow." Her teary eyes met him in the dim light. "I'm sorry, Lucas. I can't do it. I can't sleep with him."

As mad as he was, he couldn't help but snicker. His beautiful and perfect Peyton was apologizing to him because she couldn't sleep with someone else. Lucas brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead. "Don't apologize for that, okay? That's a good thing. And don't worry about Julian, okay? I'll take care of him."

"You sure? I didn't mean to cause you any more trouble…"

"Peyt, I know you were just trying to help and I love you for that. Just let's go inside and eat, okay? You need to stop thinking about this. Stress isn't good for you or the baby."

She nodded. "Thank you." She gave him a small teary kiss. "I love you."

"I love _you_. Now come on, you need to eat."

Peyton wiped her face and allowed Lucas to bring her inside. Their friends knew better than to ask what was wrong after seeing the look Lucas gave them when he first stepped in. He wanted Peyton to forget all about Julian and his indecent proposal and have a good meal and he was going to concentrate all his effort on that.

Once dinner was over, however, then he'd start thinking how to deal with Julian.

-----

At dinner, pretty much all the conversation was held between Jamie, blissfully oblivious to the situation, and Brooke, who took it up herself to fill the empty silence. Haley watched Peyton with concern. The pregnant girl looked shaken and only put food in her mouth when Lucas was watching her. On the other hand, Lucas was watching her pretty much the whole time.

Nathan could feel the anger radiating off his brother but he respected the fact that Lucas didn't seem to want to talk about it. At least not in front of Peyton. So, when dinner was over, he pulled Lucas aside at the first opportunity.

"Talk to me."

"Peyton went to see Julian."

"She tried to make him leave, didn't she?" Nathan asked, knowing full well what the answer was. "Classic Sawyer."

"You know what he said? He told her that if she didn't sleep with him that he'd press charges on me." Lucas ran his hands through his hair. He hadn't really wanted to talk about it in front of the group, but he knew Nathan would understand his position perfectly.

"He told her that? God, I want to KILL him."

"Me too. Peyton's all worried because she thinks it's all her fault. She actually apologized for not being able to sleep with him. I told her that she shouldn't worried because I'd take care of Julian, but I know she's still concerned about it."

"So, what are you going to do about him?"

"I don't know. All I can come up with… well, let's say that they're not exactly viable options. What about you? Any ideas of what I should do?"

Nathan breathed hard. "No, but… God, Lucas, don't hate me for suggesting this, but you could always talk to Dan. If there's someone who knows all about ruining people's lives, it's him."

"No, Nate. I'm not going to visit him in prison and ask him for advice on how to get the love of my life's ex-boyfriend off my back."

"Well… Um, I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Nathan swallowed nervously. He hadn't been looking forward to disclosing this certain piece of information to Lucas. "He's not exactly in prison, right now."

"Where is he?"

"He got paroled. He's out."

"He's out? He killed his own brother in cold blood! How could anyone think that four years was enough time behind bars?" Lucas curled his hand into a fist. "How long have you been keeping this from me?"

"A little over a week," Nathan told him, apologetically. "Luke, I knew how upset you'd be and you were busy with your screenplay and… I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

The blond Scott was silent. His monster of a father was free and out on the streets. He didn't know who he was angrier at, Dan or Julian. Then Lucas saw Peyton sitting down on the couch, putting on a brave face for her girlfriends and knew the answer.

"Do you know where he's staying?" His voice sounded empty and hollow, even to himself.

"I have his number," Nathan said and Lucas raised an eyebrow at that. "Don't ask."

Lucas took the phone number of the man who had taken one of the most important people in his life away from him. Could he put all of his anger and hatred for his father behind him long enough to ask for his advice? Lucas looked at Peyton again. He could, if only to protect _the_ most important people in his life. He told Peyton he'd take care of it, and even if he had to ask Dan for help, he was going to.

-----

Haley took Jamie upstairs to put him to bed and Nathan and Lucas were off in the corner talking. That left Peyton and Brooke alone with each other. Brooke sat next to her best friend and wrapped an arm around her.

"What happened, P. Sawyer?"

"Julian happened."

"What did he do now?" Brooke was getting mighty tired of this charming little creep messing with her friend's happiness.

"He's threatening to press charges on Lucas if I don't have sex with him."

Brooke didn't look surprised. "That's pretty low. I actually expected something so low class from him. You're not going to do it, are you?"

"Of course not. I can't." Peyton shuddered violently in disgust. "It makes me physically ill to even think about it."

"What an asshole." Brooke shook her head, "So what's your plan, then?"

Peyton shrugged. "I told Lucas about it and he told me that he was going to handle it."

"How?"

"I don't know. He just told me to stop worrying about it and that he would handle Julian." Peyton let her eyes drift over to Lucas. "Just between you and me, Brooke? I'm not any less worried now."

"Listen, he's right. You shouldn't worry. Lucas isn't going to do anything stupid. Concerning yourself over what he could do is just going to make you sick." Brooke hugged her tight. "Everything is going to be fine."

"You think so?"

"Without a doubt," Brooke lied. In truth, she was pretty worried about the whole situation. But right now, she had to make sure that Peyton believed it.

Peyton wasn't fooled by her best friend, but she didn't call Brooke on it. She just sighed and said, "I hope you're right."

-----

Later that night, everyone made their way to their respective homes. The five of them had desperately tried to have some light, care-free conversation, but they found it impossible. The whole situation with Julian hung like a dark cloud above all of them. Even Haley, who hadn't yet been told what was wrong, could feel the tension. Eventually, there was nothing else to do but call the whole evening a bust.

When Lucas got home, he immediately took out his cell phone. He can't believe that he had Dan's number programmed in there. It was so tempting to just erase the number and figure things out on his own, but he couldn't risk it. He had to do it for Peyton.

He picked the number and with his hands shaking, he brought the phone up to his ear. Lucas forced himself not to hang up when he heard his father pick up.

"Scott."

"It's Lucas."

Dan blinked. He had never ever expected to receive a phone call from his eldest son. "Lucas? How are you, son?"

"You don't have a right to ask me that! Not after what you did!"

Dan sighed. This was going to be a very difficult conversation, he could tell. "I'm sorry. I'll just sit here in silence until you tell me why you called me."

Lucas felt his anger flare but knew that wouldn't be conducive to anything. "I need your help."

Dan stayed silent. The ex-mayor knew that this was a crucial moment and was fearful that if he said the wrong thing, his blond son would just hang up and he'd never have the chance to try to fix things with his son again.

Lucas had expected a smug remark after his admission and was surprised at his father's restraint. Perhaps Dan had changed. A very, very little, but still any change was welcome. "I'm in a situation and I don't know what to do."

"Okay…" Dan was beginning to grow impatient. Why couldn't Lucas just spit it out and they could move on?

This was where things got really tricky for Lucas. The way he saw it, he had only two choices. Well, three, but hanging up the phone really wasn't an option anymore. Either he told Dan everything to get accurate advice or he told Dan scraps of information and risked being given advice that wouldn't work at all. Lucas hated that Dan still had this power over him. But he did, and because of that, Lucas decided, Dan was only going to be given information on a need-to-know basis.

"There's this guy, Julian Baker, who's making my life very difficult right now. He's threatening to press charges against me if my girl won't…"

"Sleep with him?" Dan finished the sentence for him, sensing that his son was having difficulty getting the words out. "Just ignore him. Unless he's a cop or a high-ranking official, bogus charges won't be able to stick."

"What if they're not bogus?"

"What did you do?"

"I punched him in the nose."

"Oh, well. Now, there's always the fact that it's your word against his…"

"Actually, I did it in front of a group of people."

"Jesus, Lucas!" His son had definitely inherited the Scott temper. "Why does this guy want your girl? Is it just to get you back or because of some other reason that you're not telling me."

"Why does that matter?"

"Well, maybe there's something that could be done involving her."

"Peyton's not sleeping with him!" Lucas had blurted her name without thinking and immediately regretted it.

"I wasn't suggesting that, believe me. I pretty much figured it was out of the question since you would have to be out of viable options for you to have called me for advice."

Lucas had hated this man for so long that he had forgotten that Dan had some good qualities. He was very smart, which often turned into conniving, but still his intelligence could never be questioned. "They used to date. Julian and Peyton."

"Oh," Dan said quietly, thinking over the situation. "And I'm guessing that Peyton already tried to talk him out of it and that didn't work."

"Yeah."

"You know, I can't tell that there's still something you're not telling me. Something that would make it plausible for me to believe that you called me for help."

Lucas sighed. "We're having a baby."

"Congratulations," Dan said, his voice cracking in the middle. It hurt to know that he would never get to know this grandchild of his. Just like he'd never get to know Jamie. "So, that makes perfect sense to me now."

"And?" Now it was Lucas's turn to become impatient. He just wanted the phone call to be over. He couldn't believe that he had disclosed so much personal information to his father.

"I'm going to handle it," Dan said, his voice firm. "Do me a favor, Lucas. Don't tell anyone that you talked to me. Just pretend it never happened."

"What? What are you talking about?" Lucas felt cold. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to pull some strings to make this go away. Don't worry about it anymore, Lucas. Just take care of Peyton and her baby." And with that, Dan hung up.

Lucas felt worried. What had he done?

-------

It was late by the time Peyton fell asleep. Brooke had stayed in bed with her, comforting her over the situation with Julian. The entire time, the brunette could feel herself growing angrier and angrier with Julian. And now that her best friend was fast asleep, Brooke could do something about it. She grabbed her phone and called information. Once she had been connected to the hotel that Julian was staying at, and had been transferred to his room, Brooke began to hope that her plan would work.

"Hello?" Julian was annoyed at whoever would think of calling so late.

"Julian…" Brooke said, her voice deep and husky. "It's Brooke Davis."

"Ah, Brooke. I'd wonder when you'd call."

"Listen, I heard about your little proposition to my friend and I think I can do you one better."

"Oh really? I'm intrigued," Julian said. "Go on."

"I know how much money is required to make a movie. What if I tell you that I'd be willing to through some major dollar signs your way if you just get out of town and leave my friends alone?"

Julian laughed. "You really disappoint me, Brooke. I can get money quite easily, I assure you. I was hoping that your offer included something a little more personal."

"Excuse me?"

"If you want me to forget all about the little choice I gave Peyton, you're going to have to step up and fill in for her. Or to be more appropriate, let me do the filling."

"You're disgusting! I'm not going to have sex with you just so you'll leave town!"

"Who said anything about me leaving town? I'm just talking about letting Peyton off the hook about the whole assault thing." Julian licked his teeth. "If you really wanted to make me leave town, that would take having you _both_ at the same time. Maybe with an appearance from your other friend, the other brunette."

"You're lucky I don't just call Nathan and tell him what you just suggested!"

"No, you're smarter than that. Because if you do, Nathan will probably end up in the cell next to his brother. Maybe they can have a family reunion with their dad."

"Shut up."

"No, seriously though, what's it going to be, Brooke? Are you going take your friend's place in my bed? I'll probably be thinking about Peyton the whole time, but you'll probably used to that."

Brooke growled and hung up the phone. Calling him had been a very bad idea. She hoped that Lucas fared better than she did.

Julian laughed again. This was truly fascinating. He had never expected to find this level of enjoyment in this little town. He couldn't wait to see what would be the next thing that they would try. He knew he didn't have to wait long to find out when there was a loud knock on his door a few minutes later.

He opened the door to find a man that he had never seen before. "Yes?"

The man looked at him, seemingly interested by his broken nose. "Julian Baker?"

"I am. And who the hell are you?"

"Dan Scott." Then Dan push Julian into the room and closed the door behind him.

Julian tripped on the rug and fell to the floor. "Hey!"

Dan kicked him in the face. "You stay quiet unless I ask you a direct question."

Julian felt the rest of his nose disintegrate when Dan kicked him. "Fuck!"

Dan kicked him in the stomach. "That's not doing what I told you to do."

The young producer curled up, alternating between holding his shattered nose and clutching his stomach. He coughed and looked at Dan with fear in his eyes.

"Good, you understand. I've been hearing around town that you are messing with my son and his pregnant girlfriend."

"She's not his-"

Dan cut him off with a swift kick to his spine. "I didn't ask you a question. Anyway, I don't like when people upset my family. It makes me angry. And when I get angry, I sort of go a little crazy." Dan spied a copy of An Unkindness of Ravens on Julian's nightstand. "You should know that if you've read my son's book."

Julian trembled, gasping for breath. With his nose as destroyed as it was, he couldn't get air through it. He watched Dan loom over him and he could feel the hatred radiating off the older man. Julian couldn't help wondering how the Scott father had gotten involved. Wasn't this man supposed to be in prison? What was he doing here, hitting him? And why was he hitting him so much?

"You've been so eager to talk this whole time, why don't you answer a question for me. Did you go see a doctor about that nose?"

"No, I-"

Dan cut him off another kick in the back. "A simple 'no' was all I needed. You're probably wondering why I asked you that. Well, seems like you don't have any evidence that you were hit by my son. After all, any doctor who takes a look at you now is only going to be able to see the damage that I did. And trust me, most of your superficial 'witnesses' aren't going to want to speak up after they see what I did to your face. That is, if I let you live."

Julian swallowed hard, fighting hard against the nausea caused by the pain. Dan had to be joking. That's what this all had to be, just one big sick joke.

"You see, I've done my research about you and I was pretty interested to learn that you're some sort of producer. You make your living making deals. Well, here's a deal for you. You leave Tree Hill immediately and I won't kill you."

Julian's eyes widen, still sucking in air desperately. "You wouldn't."

Dan knelt down beside him and pushed Julian onto his back on the floor. Then Dan punched Julian in the mouth as hard as he could.

"If you can't keep quiet when I'm taking, then I'm going to have to make sure that you can't talk." The older man glared at the injured producer on the floor. "I'm serious, Julian. If you interrupt me one more time, things are going to get unpleasant for you."

The younger felt the tears stinging his eyes. He was absolutely terrified of what this man would do to him next.

"Now, I understand that you doubt the seriousness of my threat. But you really shouldn't. I murdered my own brother in cold blood," Dan reminded him. "Trust me, I wouldn't hesitate putting a round in _your_ head."

Julian stayed quiet and Dan smiled.

"Good to see you finally caught on," Dan said. "Now, you heard my deal, so I want you to think long and hard before you answer my next question. Are you going to leave town, leaving my son and his friends alone?"

Julian coughed, a little blood sputtering out. "Yes," he managed to get out before convulsing in a fit of coughing again.

"Good. Now, I know that when I leave you might be tempted to call the cops on me. And, let me just tell you what a stupid idea that would be." Dan leaned down near Julian's ear. "I served four years for committing murder. How long do you think it is before I get out? And when I did, finding you would be my first priority."

Julian shuddered and knew immediately that Dan was neither lying nor exaggerating.

"So, I'm going to go now," the elder man said, standing. "You seem like a smart man, so I know that you're going to make the right choice. You're probably going to crawl into the bathroom and vomit your brains out into the toilet for a while and then you are going to call the airline and get a seat on the next flight out."

Julian didn't move until he saw Dan leave the room and close the door behind him. He closed his eyes and gasped out a relieved breath. He hoped that would be the last time that he EVER came in contact with Dan Scott.

-----

Peyton looked at her clock. It was still pretty early and she knew from experience that Julian always slept in late. She needed to call him and tell him that she wasn't going to sleep with him. And if she was going to call him, she might as well wake him up to tell him. So, she called the hotel and waited for someone to pick up.

"Yes, Julian Baker's room, please."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Baker checked late last night."

Peyton blinked. "Are you sure? Did he leave a note or a forwarding address or something?"

"No, I'm sorry, miss."

"Oh, no. Thanks for the help," she said, hanging up the phone. The blond artist was now utterly confused. He left? Why did he leave so suddenly? Did he have a change of heart? Peyton didn't know, and that bothered her.

She quickly called Lucas.

"Hello?"

Peyton could hear the drowsiness in his voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Peyton?" Lucas woke up completely. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really. I just called Julian to tell him my answer and the lady at the front desk said that he checked out last night."

"He did? Has he called you or left you a message?"

"Not that I know of. What about you?"

"No, nothing on my end."

Peyton was quiet for a second. "Did you do anything to him?"

"To Julian? No! How could you think that?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry." Peyton chuckled a bit. "It's just seems like it was too easy for us that he just took off like that."

"I know what you mean." Lucas breathed out slowly. "But it seems like that's what happened, so we shouldn't dwell on it."

"You're right, Luke. So, maybe we can meet up later to celebrate… I mean, if you'd want to."

Lucas laughed. "I'd love to. How about we have a nice long together?"

"Sounds good. I guess I should let you get back to sleep. Call me later?"

"Definitely. I love you, Peyt."

"I love you, too. Bye."

Lucas hung up the phone. He hadn't wanted to worry Peyton, but he was positive that Julian's sudden departure had to do with whatever Dan had done. Lucas sighed. He hoped that Dan hadn't done anything severe. He was going to have to talk to his father. Later. Right now he was going to go back to sleep.

_____________________

**A/N: I love how everyone was so against the idea of Peyton sleeping with Julian. Not that I had thought for a second of having her do it. I just thought it was funny how everyone totally didn't want it to happen. Before I go, one more thing. Okay, I've apologized for my dislike of certain characters (Julian and Lindsey), now I have to apologize for liking Dan. I don't know what it is but I'm fascinated by his character and I truly believe that he's not entirely a bad guy. He makes for interesting reading and he was the only one that would do what needed to be done to get Julian out of town. Hopefully his appearance doesn't keep you guys from continuing to read the story. So, enjoy One Tree Hill tonight and I'll update soon.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: First, Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers. And Happy Thursday for those who aren't! So, thanks for all the reviews and I'm glad no one had objections of my Dan-love. Anyway, sorry for the lack of updates these last few days, but I've been trying to get this chapter just right. Because this is it. It's the end of the story. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all for sticking with it. Hope that it doesn't disappoint!**

**___________________**

Later that morning, Brooke made her way downstairs. She wasn't looking forward to telling her best friend what had occurred when she had called Julian last night. Brooke was upset. A little with Julian, but mostly with herself. Brooke had made a promise to herself to make sure that Julian didn't do anything to upset her friend and she had failed miserably. And of course, Peyton had to be up already. Because Peyton never slept in on the days it would be convenient for Brooke.

Peyton was sitting at the table, sketching. She looked up when she heard Brooke's footsteps on the floor. "Good morning, Brooke. How'd you sleep?"

Brooke swallowed hard. "Not very good, to be honest. Listen, Peyton, I have to tell you something."

The blonde looked at the young designer, scared a little by her friend's serious tone. "What is it, Brooke? You're scaring me a little."

Brooke sat next to her best friend. "I kinda called Julian last night. I told him that if he left you guys alone and left town, I'd give him money. He laughed and said he didn't need it and… Well, he made a proposition of his own."

"Let me guess, you for me?"

"Yeah, but not to leave town. Just to not press charges," Brooke groaned in disgust. "You don't even want to know what he wanted for him to leave town."

"Did you do it?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, Peyton, I couldn't. And especially couldn't have done it without you knowing."

Peyton looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"He wanted a threesome with you and me, with a guest appearance from Haley. Can you believe that?"

Peyton made a face. "That would never happen."

"I know! Well, at least never with Julian." Brooke thought about it for a minute. "I think the only candidate would be Nathan, since he's the only guy the three of us have had sex with. And it's Haley's husband, so she wouldn't be cheating on him."

Peyton was staring at her friend, her eyebrow kinked. "What?!?"

Brooke widened her eyes and closed her mouth. Her eyes darted back and forth and she blushed. "Nothing. Never mind."

"Anyway, something must have happened," the blond said. "Did you say anything else to him? Anything at all?"

"No, why?"

"Because he's gone," Peyton told her friend.

"What do you mean, gone?"

"He left. I called his hotel this morning and they told me that he checked out late last night," Peyton explained, shrugging. "He took off without an explanation. No note, no phone call, no forwarding address, nothing."

"Really? I wasn't expecting that." Brooke thought back to the conversation she had with the producer the previous evening. "It doesn't even make sense. Julian seemed pretty insistent on staying in town. There's no way he just took off like that for no reason. You need to call Broody and ask him. He might know what happened."

"He doesn't," Peyton replied. At Brooke's look, Peyton blushed slightly. "I called him earlier when I found out Julian had checked out. He told me he didn't know why Julian left. And I believe him. He was pretty surprised to hear that Julian was gone."

"So do you think, Nathan?"

Peyton pondered the situation. "I don't know. What on Earth could Nathan have done to make Julian leave so suddenly?"

"Killed him?"

Peyton laughed, shaking her head. "No way. You know Haley, she's a smart girl. Knowing her, she kept a close eye on her husband last night. I think we're barking up the wrong tree here. Who knows, maybe there was some sort of emergency back in LA or something. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that he's finally gone."

"I guess you're right, P. Sawyer. But what does his leaving mean for the movie?"

"I don't know," Peyton said truthfully. "Lucas wrote the screenplay and got paid for it. I guess the rest is up to Julian."

-----

Lucas woke up as a ball of conflicting emotions. He was glad that Julian was gone, but he was scared of what Dan had done. He was grateful to his father, but he still hated him for murdering Keith. He was excited to have lunch with Peyton, but was not looking forward to telling her that he had gotten Dan involved. And he knew that he had to have a conversation with his father before he could talk to Peyton. And there was no time like the present. He grabbed his phone and after only a moment's hesitation, called his father.

After a few rings, his father answered the phone. "Scott."

"It's Lucas."

"Lucas? That's two phone calls in less than twenty-four hours. Must be a record for us," Dan said, thoroughly enjoying the fact that his eldest son was calling him once again. "What can I do for you, today?"

"What did you do?"

Dan smiled, grateful that his son couldn't see him. "Last night? Lucas, I didn't realize that you were so interested in my nighttime rituals."

"You know what I mean. What did you do to Julian?"

Dan narrowed his eyes. "Did you talk to him? What did the little shit say I did?"

"No, I haven't talked to him. So, he's okay?" Lucas was relieved.

"As far as I know, he's fine." Dan was satisfied. "He seemed very pleased to be leaving Tree Hill when I last saw him."

"So what did you do?"

"I talked to him. He's a business man, Lucas. I just made him a deal that he couldn't refuse."

There was something in his father's voice that made Lucas worry. "What was it? The deal that he couldn't refuse?"

"I'm sorry, son. But that information is confidential. What I can tell you is that you shouldn't have to worry about Mr. Baker anymore."

Lucas couldn't believe it. Julian was gone and by the sounds of it, still alive. There was only one thing he could say to his father. "Thank you."

Dan heard how genuine the sentiment was and his smug demeanor vanish. "It was no problem. I was happy to do it."

Lucas was taken aback by the Dan's reply. It sounded real and honest. He had to remind himself that this was the man that took his uncle away from him. "So, anyway, I should probably be get going-"

"Lucas?"

"What?" The son was a little annoyed at having been cut off.

"You take care of Peyton, okay? And the baby and yourself, too." Dan paused, trying to figure the best way to say what he needed to. "But if you do run into trouble again… I would really like the opportunity to take care of it for you."

"I'll think about it." Lucas had to force himself to keep his voice hard. "But, I really got to go now. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Lucas."

-----

Peyton watched Brooke leave the house for a day of shopping. The brunette had tried to get her friend to join her, but Peyton had declined the offer. She was going to be having lunch with Lucas, after all. She also wanted to be alone for when she called Julian. Hoping that he hadn't changed his cell number since they had broken up, Peyton called her ex-boyfriend.

"Hello?"

"Julian?" Peyton wasn't sure if she had gotten the right number. It sort of sounded like Julian's voice and it sort of didn't.

"Peyton."

He didn't sound happy to hear from her. But at least it was him. "So, I tried reaching you at your hotel earlier but-"

"I'm in LA."

"So you did leave town." She shook her head. She couldn't help feeling that there was something that was definitely going on with him. She could just sense it and that worried her. "Okay, what's wrong, Julian?"

"Why do you care?" Julian spit the question out with as much venom as he could muster. The long plane ride had done nothing to help him recover from his injuries. "Why don't you go back to your precious little Lucas and leave me alone?"

"Julian, I'm sorry." She wasn't sure why she was sorry, but she knew that she should be. "But why are you acting this way?"

He chuckled sardonically. "Because I'm just playing my part, Peyton. The part _you_ cast me in when you tried to use me as a placeholder for the love of you life." He coughed violently, bringing a brand new flash of pain all over his broken body. "Your friend Brooke was right. She warned me against trying to get between the two you saying that it never ended well for the third party. I just wished someone had told me that years ago."

Peyton felt awful. "Jesus, Julian, I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant to hurt you, I hope you realize that."

"You did, though. But don't worry, I've been hurt worse since," he told her. Like last night. But he didn't tell her that. He knew Dan Scott meant business and he wasn't going to mess with him. "Why did you call, Peyton?"

Peyton knew how hard this must be for him. Still, he was being honest with her, and he deserved the same courtesy from her. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. When you weren't at the hotel, I got worried about you."

Julian closed his eyes. Her obvious concern for him was too much. Julian knew how easy it would be for him to fool himself into thinking that she really did care for him like that. But the truth was that she didn't. She cared because she was a good person with a kind heart, not because she loved him. There was only one person who Peyton could ever be in love with and it wasn't him. Knowing that, he couldn't allow himself to fall for her again. She was a dangerous girl, that one. The best thing for his own personal safety and that of his heart would be to keep as much distance between the two of them as possible. He knew it would hurt, but not as bad as Dan would hurt him. "I'll be fine. But, if that was all, then I gotta go."

"Oh, okay."

"Bye, Peyton. Please don't call me again."

And then he just hung up without even giving her a chance to say goodbye. As she hung up her phone she couldn't help feeling a little hurt at the way he had ended the call. She had cared for him while they had been dating. It was a little sad for her to know how badly things have gotten between the two of them. But she knew that it was for the best. Julian was fine and out of her life. And that's when Peyton realized that she was relieved. Now she could concentrate on other things: the baby, her new label, her friends… Lucas.

Her phone rang in her hand. She looked at the name on the caller ID. Well, well, speak of the devil. She smiled as she answered the phone. "Hey, I was just thinking about you."

Her voice warmed him and his face broke into a smile. "Oh yeah? Good or bad thoughts?"

"Good thoughts, Luke. Definitely good."

"I'm glad. So, I'm guessing that we're still on for lunch, then?"

"Of course." She decided to make a move. "Um, you know, I was thinking, I'm not really in the mood for some crowded restaurant."

"Okay…" he said hesitantly. Didn't she just say that the were still on for lunch? He was confused, to say the least.

"So, I'm in the mood for pizza. Why don't I pick some up and come over?"

"Um, yeah! That sounds great. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be right over."

-----

Lucas looked over his room. He had never been a particularly messy person, but picking up after himself had taken a backseat to his writing and his pursuit of Peyton. When she had told him that she was coming over, he had immediately started to clean his place up. Peyton wasn't superficial, but he didn't think that having her step over his dirty laundry was a way to impress her.

When she knocked on his door, Lucas was proud to show off his clean room. He opened the door and grinned, seeing her standing there with a pizza box in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Miss," Lucas said, trying to stifle a laugh. "I seem to have misplaced my wallet. Is there any other way I can pay for the pizza?"

"Perv." Peyton handed him the pizza and then kissed him. "Hi."

It took him a second to recover from the surprise kiss. "Hi."

She smiled at him and he moved towards the living room, letting her in his room. Peyton closed the door behind her and sniffed the air.

"Do I smell cleaning supplies?" Peyton saw Lucas's ears turn red. "Did you clean up for me?"

"Maybe." Lucas set the pizza on the gleaming coffee table in front of the shiny television set.

Peyton bit her lip. It was really cute that he was trying to impress her. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I know and it's not like I did it just for you.," he said, his ears still slightly pink. "It needed some cleaning anyway. I've just been too busy with the new book to worry about it."

"Mmm… the new book. Tell me about it?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because… I just want you to read without having had any preconceived notions about it."

"When do I get to read it, then?"

Lucas looked into her eyes. "The second that it's finished."

Peyton blushed hard, feeling his intense gaze on her. She quickly changed the subject. "So, I'm starving!"

He looked uneasy. "I'm sorry, was lunch too late? I read somewhere that nutrition is very important in the first trimester. Did you eat enough at breakfast?"

She placed a hand on his face. "Thank you for worrying about me, Luke. But I'm fine. I'm just hungry. Nothing major."

He nodded and opened the pizza box. Soon, they were snuggled up on the couch, eating their lunch and laughing at the comedy that they had found on T.V. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he rested his hand on her knee.

"Hey, you want anything else?" Lucas squeezed her knee gently, just enjoying the feel of being able to touch her freely.

"No, thanks. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes," she said, laughing slightly at his overbearing concern. "I'm sure."

"Well, just promise to let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I promise."

There they sat for the remainder of the movie, physically close and emotionally closer. When the ending credits began to roll, Peyton yawned slightly and Lucas stretched.

"Good movie," she said, turning to look at her.

"Better company," he replied giving her a huge grin.

She smiled at him. "Nice line."

"Nice legs," he said pointing at hers.

She pushed him, laughing. "Always with the comments about the legs!"

He pulled her to his chest. "I can't help it. They're my weakness, Peyt. One that you know about and yet you came over in a skirt."

"So? I like skirts."

"I think you also like that _I_ like you in your skirts."

"Maybe."

He kissed the top of her head. This afternoon had being going so well that he hated the idea of ruining. But he didn't want to ruin their relationship by not being honest with her. "I need to tell you something about Julian…"

"Julian! I forgot to tell you, he's in LA."

Lucas blinked. "How do you know he's in LA?"

Peyton 's cheeks burned. She suddenly realized how bad her answer was going to sound. "I kind of called him earlier."

Jealous raged through him, but he tried to fight it back. Instead, he kept his cool demeanor and asked, "Oh really? How was he?"

Peyton could tell that Lucas wasn't handling as well as he was pretending to. "Fine, I guess. I don't know. But does it matter how he was? He's gone. Isn't that what's important?"

Lucas nodded, still trying to fight off the little bit of resentment. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Luke." Peyton lifted her head from his chest until her green eyes met his. "It was nothing. I swear. I love _you_."

He smiled, her words warming him up and pushing away all the unhappy thoughts. "I love you, too. And that's why I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I did something yesterday that I'm not proud of. I just didn't know what else to do. I was so angry at Julian and had run out of ideas," Lucas swallowed hard, and forced himself to continue talking. "I couldn't just sit back and do nothing as that bastard tried to hurt you like that. So I did the only thing I could think of. I called Dan."

"Dan? Dan Scott?" Peyton searched his face. "You called him in prison?"

"No. He's out on parole, apparently." Lucas moved his gaze away from her, as if he wasn't worthy to look upon her. "Nathan had his number and I called him for advice."

"What did he say?" Peyton couldn't believe that she was hearing this. Lucas HATED Dan. She could never have imagined him going to his father for anything. Not after what Dan did.

"He told me that he would take care of it. And apparently he did. He made Julian leave town." He looked up at the ceiling, letting his head rest on the back of the couch. "I know that going to Dan was stupid and I'm sorry, Peyt. I just didn't know what else to do. I can understand if you never want to see me again."

Peyton took his face in her hands and moved it so she could look at him. He had gone to the one person he hated most just because of her. Her heart swelled with love for him and she kissed him. When the kiss broke, she rested her forehead on his. "I'm not mad. I completely understand why you did it, Luke. Thank you for loving me so much that you would go to Dan. I know how hard that must have been for you."

Lucas blinked. Her reaction wasn't what he had expected from her at all. "It was hard, but I'd do it again in a second, for you." He gave a deep kiss and stared into her eyes. "I'd do anything for you, Peyton, anything at all."

Peyton nodded. She could feel the truth in his words right down to her very bones. She stood up from where she was sitting and took his hand. She pulled him off the couch and tugged him behind her, without saying a word to him.

He chuckled a bit at all this. "Where are you taking me, Miss Sawyer?"

Peyton looked over her shoulder at him, her green eyes dark with lust. "The bedroom."

He felt the heat rise in his body. He swallowed hard, not wanting to jump to any conclusions. "Why are we going in there?"

She reached the doorway of his bedroom and turned to him, her face flushed with desire. "Because that's where your bed is."

Lucas took her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing it. "Are you saying what I think you're saying? Because I don't want to get my hopes up if you're not."

Peyton grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close to her. She pressed her body against him and grinded her pelvis against his. "I want you, Luke."

He closed his eyes. God, she felt so good. He knew he was going to kick himself for this later but he had to make sure. "Are you sure you want to do this, Peyt? If you're not ready, I understand. I don't want to pressure you into anything you're going to regret later."

Her want of him grew as he tried to be protective of her. He was always trying make sure that she was safe and that was definitely a turn on for her. "The way I see it, I'm the one doing all the pressuring. I appreciate what you're doing here, I really do, but just stop. Do you want me?"

"Of course, I do! God, I want you so much that it hurts. I just don't want for you to think that it was a mistake."

"I won't." She kissed him deep and started undoing her blouse. "Now, make love to me, Luke, and don't make me ask again."

He kissed her. "That was more of a command than a request, anyway."

He scooped her up in his arms as she let her blouse drop to the floor. He carried her into his room and placed her gently in his bed. Peyton started undoing her skirt as Lucas climbed into the bed beside her. She smiled as his hands traced the lace lining of her underthings, making her tingle. She grabbed his shirt and pulled it off over his head and toss it aside.

"You are gorgeous, Peyton."

She blushed and tried to hide her shyness by fiddling with his belt. He put his hand on her chin so he could look her in the eyes. "I love you and I want to be with you forever. I know you want to take it slow and I respect that, I do. But I want to marry you."

"What?" Her hands dropped to her side and she stared at him, mouth agape. "Are you proposing to me, _now?"_

"Yeah, I guess I am." He kissed her again, forcing her to close her mouth to allow it. "But I know that you're going to need time and I understand that now. I want to marry you but I'm willing to wait until you are ready to get married."

Peyton's eyes filled with tears. "What are you saying, Lucas?"

He undid his jeans and pulled them off, all the time, never having taken his gaze off her face. "I'm saying that the last time I proposed it was for all the wrong reasons and you said no-"

"I didn't say 'no,' I said, 'someday.'" Peyton forced herself to stay in the mood.

"You're right. And you're were right back then, too. I understand it now. And that's why it's different this time."

"How?"

"I'm asking you to marry me because I want to be with you and our child forever, not because of some adolescent fear. And it's not a limited time offer either, this time." He undid her bra and tossed it away from them, kissing her newly revealed body. "This offer is going to stand for as long as it needs to for you to want to marry me, too. Even if I have to wait forever, I will. Because I love you, Peyton. I know now that I can't be without you. And I know you feel the same way about me."

"I do." She kissed him hard, pushing his boxers down his legs. Lucas grinned and began kissing down her body. He made his way until he was eye-level with her mound and pulled her underwear down her legs. Off it came and there it landed with the pile of the other discarded clothing.

Peyton moaned deeply as she felt him go to work between her legs. His words danced around her head but she couldn't concentrate on them with the way Lucas's tongue was moving about down there. She screamed his name several times before she managed to pry him away from his task and pulled him up so she could kiss him. She felt him pull away and begin his descent down her body again when she grabbed his face.

"Stop. I don't need you to get me in the mood. I'm already there. In fact, I've been ready to go since before we got in here."

He kinked an eyebrow. "Who said I was doing it for you?"

She turned beet red as he licked her lips and raised his eyebrows suggestively at her. She pulled him up again and shook her head.

"Please, Lucas, don't tease me anymore."

Her little plea made it impossible for him to continue his little torture session. He settled his weight between her legs and entered her. Their bodies joining again made the two of them moan with pleasure. She dug her nails into his back and wrapped her legs around his waist. He looked down at her exquisite features and kissed her.

When the kiss ended, he looked deep into her eyes again. "I love you, Peyton."

Peyton nodded quickly, feeling how close she was. "I love you, Lucas."

-----

Hours later, the two laid in bed, tangled in the sheets and each other. Both were completely exhausted from their marathon session. She could feel his heart beating through his chest. She looked up at him with a worried expression.

"How's your heart doing?"

He pressed her hand over his left breast. "It's fine as long as you're here with me, Peyton."

"Stop it! I'm being serious."

"So am I." He brushed her hair away from her face. "But I get what you were asking. You have nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

"Good, because we need you, Luke," she said putting a hand over her stomach. "We need you right here with us."

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm not planning on going anywhere."

Peyton rested her head on his chest, just listening to his heart slow down. He ran his fingers through her hair and traced a finger over her arm. They stayed there for a while, just relaxing with each other in the comfortable silence.

"Luke?"

"Hmm?" He blinked. He must have started to drift off.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"I said a lot of things earlier, Peyt. You're going to have to be a tad more specific."

Peyton lifted her head from his chest so she could read his expression. "When you were proposing to me. Did you mean what you said then?"

"Every word. Why?"

"Because… Yes."

He straightened up a little and looked at her, wide-eyed. "Yes?"

"Yes!" Peyton nodded, her voice firm.

"Are you agreeing to marry me?" Lucas just needed one final confirmation of what he dared not hope to think she was saying.

"YES, Lucas! I want to marry you!"

He grabbed her face and their lips touched and immediately melted with each other. Lucas had never been so happy in his life like he was at that moment. He knew that this was how it was supposed to be between them and it was how it was going to be from now on. They were together and they were going to be together forever. He didn't fool himself to think that their life was going to be free of problems now, but he knew that as long as they had each other, the two of them could handle anything that was thrown their way.

Peyton smiled brightly. She had wanted to wait, but she knew that there was no reason. The two of them belonged together and it didn't make sense to take it slow when they had spent so much time away from each other already. They had hurt each other but their love had never wavered. And as long as they had faith, nothing was going to tear them apart. She still had things that she was worried about and she knew that it was only going to get worse. But she knew that with Lucas by her side, she was going to do just fine. She was happy. She got her happy ending, after all.

The End.

**__________________**

**A/N: So there it is, folks. The End. I'm probably going to take a short break this weekend to enjoy the holiday with my family, but I already have some ideas for a new story. I'll probably start it on Monday, so I really hope you guys check it out! Thanks again for all the time spent on my little story. BYE!**


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